The Oklahoma City Area Baseball Coaches Association will play its annual all-star game at 6 p.m. Thursday at Palmer Field at Dolese Park.

An all-star team made up from these two rosters will play a Tulsa-area all-star team in a doubleheader at noon Saturday at Bishop McGuinness. OCS’ Ken McQueen and Tecumseh’s Chad Trahan will coach the Oklahoma City team.

NORTH
Starters
Pitchers: Brock Stuber, Piedmont; Parker Rigler, Edmond Memorial; Kyle Stephens, Edmond North
Catchers: Mike Hale, Putnam City North; Jon Denney, Yukon
First baseman: Cody Daylor, Edmond North
Second baseman: Daniel Costello, Edmond Santa Fe
Third baseman: Bryan Dutton, Guthrie
Shortstop: Dalen Edgar, Piedmont
Outfielders: Landon Eason, Yukon; Jack Hale, Edmond Memorial; Cole Lindley, Deer Creek
Utility: Austin Brooks, OCS
Desgnated hitter: Jacob Jerome, Edmond Santa Fe

Reserves: Chiante’ McKee, Star Spencer; Bradley Fitch, Bishop McGuinness; Reed Brooks, Putnam City; Jonathan Sergent, Classen

Coaches: Ken McQueen, OCS; Kory Williams, Piedmont

SOUTH
Starters
Pitchers: Alexander Svetgoff, Westmoore; Gage Trahan, Tecumseh; Nick Ward, Southmoore
Catchers: Lane Paul, Tuttle; Cameron Knight, Westmoore
First baseman: Dylan Mauk, Blanchard
Second baseman: Daniel Herron, Norman North
Third baseman: DJ Gasso, Norman North
Shortstop: Tre Edwards, Southmoore
Outfielders: Chevin Noone, Carl Albert; Hunter Heath, Bethel; Quade Nelson, Blanchard
Utility: Damion Orr, Midwest City
Designated hitter: Joel Davis, Midwest City

Reserves: Cooper Owens, Putnam City West; Colin Webb, Moore; Matt Foster, Norman; Casey Bowlan, Shawnee; Jovanny Hernandez, U.S. Grant; Zack Howry, Capitol Hill; Landon Vodka, Mustang.

Coaches: Chad Trahan, Tecumseh; Travis Owen, Tuttle

Darwin Franklin, the son of Millwood’s Hall of Fame boys basketball coach Varryl Franklin, was hired to lead the football team, a move that became official Monday night.

“As a former student at Millwood, we welcome him and think he will be a great addition to our staff,” Griffin said. “It will be a joy to have him and his father working together.”

Darwin Franklin is currently on staff at Centennial High School, where he served as a football assistant in the fall. Varryl Franklin has been Millwood’s basketball coach since 1978, leading the team to 12 of its state-record 15 championships.

Franklin replaces Tony Henry, who stepped down last month after he and his wife accepted teaching jobs on an oil base in Saudi Arabia.

“I’m not giving up coaching, I’m just taking a break,” Henry said. “I enjoyed my time at Millwood and I wish them the best.

“My wife and I are excited for this opportunity. The benefits are great. Our three kids will get the chance to travel and see the world, so they’re excited, too.”

Henry will be working for Saudi Aramco, teaching the children of the oil company’s employees.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Kendal Cudjoe will be the next head coach of the Douglass boys basketball team, four-time defending Class 4A state champions.

The Cudjoe family has a strong tradition at Douglass High School, and now Kendal Cudjoe has the opportunity to build on it.

On Thursday, he was named the new boys basketball coach for the Trojans, winners of the last four Class 4A state championships.

Kendal’s father, Lawrence Cudjoe, built the basketball program into a state power during his 18-year tenure that ended in 1974. He died in 1994 and the court at Douglass now bears his name. Here’s a story about Lawrence Cudjoe, a former Harlem Globetrotter and all-around fascinating man in his own right.

Kendal Cudjoe was a standout on the basketball court at Douglass in the mid-1970s, and quarterbacked the Trojans to the 1976 state football title. He graduated in 1978.

“When you get a chance to go back and coach where you played, I think that’s every coach’s dream to at least get to do it one time,” Kendal Cudjoe said. “I’m really excited to have the opportunity to do that. For the court to be named after my father, and the rich tradition of the school, this means a whole lot to me.”

Cudjoe replaces Anthony Andrews, who was not retained after one season at Douglass.

Cudjoe spent the last four seasons as a head coach at Northwest Classen, two years with the girls team and two with the boys team.

In addition, Douglass also hired Anthony Gardner, a longtime Star Spencer boys assistant, as its new girls basketball coach.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Roop was the current assistant principal at Altus Intermediate School and previously served as the athletic director. He also played football at Central State and later served as principal at Hoover Middle School in Oklahoma City.

According to Frederick police, Roop fell from a grain car at Tillman Producers Co-Op Fertilizer Plant and was unresponsive. Roop was transported to Memorial Hospital in Frederick, where he later died.

An eyewitness report said Roop was standing on a rail car taking grain samples using a 10-foot brass pole, but at one point hit electrical lines above him. Sparks then started to fly and Roop fell to the ground.

The Altus Times also said an investigator with the State Medical Examiner’s Office is assisting with the ongoing investigation of the accident.

Here is a 2008 story from The Oklahoman archives on Roop’s recovery from pneumococcal meningitis.

First-year Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury extended an offer to the 5-foot-9, 165-pound Batson, who was No. 24 on The Oklahoman’s Super 30 list ranking the 2014 class of football recruits.

The offer came less than two weeks after one of Kingsbury’s mentors — former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, now at Washington State — offered Batson a scholarship as well.

Batson is also gaining interest from Texas A&M, which has invited him to campus this weekend. Oklahoma State, California and Ohio are among the other programs actively recruiting Batson.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Class 6A
BOYS
EAST
At Tulsa Rogers
Friday
Winner’s Bracket
Owasso vs. Broken Arrow, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Stillwater vs. Bixby, 8 p.m.

At Catoosa
Winner’s Bracket
Tulsa Union vs. Jenks, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Tulsa Washington vs. Bartlesville, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Catoosa
Stillwater/Bixby winner vs. Owasso/Broken Arrow loser, 8 p.m.
Tulsa Washington/Bartlesville winner vs. Tulsa Union/Jenks loser, 6:30 p.m.

WEST
At Choctaw
Friday
Winner’s Bracket
Midwest City vs. Edmond Santa Fe, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Edmond North vs. Putnam City

At Norman North
Winner’s Bracket
Edmond Memorial vs. Putnam City West, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Putnam City North vs. Lawton Eisenhower, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Norman North
Putnam City North/Lawton Eisenhower winner vs. Edmond Memorial/Putnam City West loser, 6:30 p.m.
Edmond North/Putnam City winner vs. Midwest City/Edmond Santa Fe loser, 8 p.m.

GIRLS
EAST
Thursday
At Catoosa
Winner’s Bracket
Muskogee vs. Tulsa Washington, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Jenks vs. Tulsa Union

At Tulsa Rogers
Loser’s Bracket
Broken Arrow vs. Mustang, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Bartlesville vs. Bixby, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Catoosa
Broken Arrow/Mustang winner vs. Bartlesville/Bixby loser, 1:30 p.m.
Jenks/Tulsa Union winner vs. Muskogee/Tulsa Washington loser, 3 p.m.

WEST
Thursday
At Choctaw
Winner’s Bracket
Edmond Santa Fe vs. Putnam City, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Norman vs. Southmoore, 8 p.m.

At Harrah
Loser’s Bracket
Lawton Eisenhower vs. Choctaw, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Norman North vs. Edmond Memorial, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Harrah
Lawton Eisenhower/Choctaw winner vs. Norman North/Edmond Memorial loser, 1:30 p.m.
Norman/Southmoore winner vs. Edmond Santa Fe/Putnam City loser, 3 p.m.

CLASS 5A
BOYS
EAST
Friday
At Bixby
Winner’s Bracket
Tulsa Memorial vs. Tulsa Kelley, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Chickasha vs. Guthrie, 8 p.m.

At Sapulpa
Winner’s Bracket
Coweta vs. Tulsa Edison, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Skiatook vs. Noble, 8 p.m.

At Bixby
Saturday
Skiatook/Noble winner vs. Coweta/Tulsa Edison loser, 6:30 p.m.
Chickasha/Guthrie winner vs. Tulsa Memorial/Tulsa Kelley loser, 8 p.m.

WEST
Friday
At Edmond North
Winner’s Bracket
Bishop McGuinness vs. Lawton MacArthur, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Del City vs. Capitol Hill, 8 p.m.

At Edmond Memorial
Winner’s Bracket
Carl Albert vs. Southeast, 6:30 p.m.
Western Heights vs. Piedmont, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Edmond Memorial
Western Heights/Piedmont winner vs. Carl Albert/Southeast loser, 6:30 p.m.
Del City/Capitol Hill winner vs. Bishop McGuinness/Lawton MacArthur loser, 8 p.m.

GIRLS
EAST
Thursday
At Bixby
Loser’s Bracket
Chickasha at Tulsa Edison, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Tulsa East Central at Collinsville, 8 p.m.

At Sapulpa
Winner’s Bracket
Tahlequah vs. Tulsa Memorial, 6:30 p.m.
Loser’s Bracket
Grove vs. Tulsa Kelley, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Sapulpa
Grove/Tulsa Kelley winner vs. Tahlequah/Tulsa Memorial loser, 1:30 p.m.
Chickasha/Tulsa Edison winner vs. Tulsa East Central/Collinsville loser, 3 p.m.

WEST
Thursday
At Edmond North
Loser’s Bracket
Del City vs. Ardmore, 6:30 p.m.
Winner’s Bracket
Shawnee vs. Piedmont, 8 p.m.

At Edmond Memorial
Loser’s Bracket
El Reno vs. Lawton MacArthur, 6:30 p.m.
Carl Albert vs. Deer Creek, 8 p.m.

Saturday
At Edmond North
El Reno/Lawton MacArthur winner vs. Carl Albert/Deer Creek loser, 1:30 p.m.
Del City/Ardmore winner vs. Shawnee/Piedmont loser, 3 p.m.

Woods, who has worked as an assistant at Star Spencer and Millwood over the last five seasons, is replacing Bruce Troxell, who stepped down after six years.

Woods, a former Millwood player, had a standout career at Oklahoma State. He was picked in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft and spent parts of four seasons in the NFL and CFL before ending his professional career in 2008.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Washington State extended an offer on Wednesday, which was initially reported by Rivals.com.

Washington State’s only interaction with Batson, 5-foot-9, 165 pounds, was viewing his game tape, which Millwood coaches sent to Cougars coach Mike Leach.

“They like me as a receiver,” Batson said. “A lot of the schools I’m hearing from see me as a receiver, but some are looking at me as an athlete.”

Batson did a little bit of everything for the Falcons last season. He was among the state’s leaders with nine interceptions as a cornerback, and had 598 receiving yards on just 26 catches, for an average of 23.0 yards per catch. He also rushed 26 times for 347 yards, over 13 yards per carry, and spent time at quarterback, completing 8 of 12 passes for 76 yards and two TDs.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

In this provided photo, U.S. Grant and Southeast boys basketball players are seen Tuesday night gathering in a circle during a moment of silence to remember former U.S. Grant player Anthony Hartfield, who was killed Monday.

A circle of red and blue formed at midcourt Tuesday night when players from the U.S. Grant and Southeast boys basketball teams locked arms during a moment of silence to remember former Grant player Anthony Hartfield.

The 20-year-old Hartfield was shot and killed in an apparent botched robbery attempt at his home on Monday. Here’s the story.

U.S. Grant is also planning something special to remember Hartfield at its homecoming game against John Marshall on Feb. 1. Hartfield was a two-time Big All-City and All-State honorable mention selection by The Oklahoman during his career at U.S. Grant.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass running back Chris High is the second Oklahoma running back to verbally commit to Navy this week.

Navy found the future of its backfield in Oklahoma this week.

Douglass running back Chris High joined Altus’ Diquon Woodhouse in verbally committing to the Naval Academy, according to Douglass coach Willis Alexander.

High, 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, rushed for 1,722 yards and 15 touchdowns while splitting carries to preserve himself for defense. He carried the ball 132 times, averaging 13.0 yards per attempt. He also had 75 tackles and eight sacks as an outside linebacker for the Trojans.

High also had an offer from Morgan State in Baltimore, where teammate Terry Harris is committed.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

That means Clark likely won’t be able to sign during the early period, which concludes next Wednesday for basketball players.

Clark, the state’s top recruit, is considering Oklahoma State, Baylor and UCLA, with Missouri still on the fringe as well.

“I just want to make sure I make the best decision for me and my family,” Clark said. “Every time we talk about it, everyone hasn’t been on the same page, so I haven’t made a decision yet. Until the family and everybody’s cool with it, I’ll be uncommitted until then.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

The spread offense might be — for lack of a better term — spreading throughout the state, but it hasn’t reached Davis yet, where coach Jody Weber’s Wolves are still running the wishbone to perfection.

So as Millwood prepares for its second-round Class 2A playoff game at Davis Friday night, its players are talking about assignments and toughness, two key components to containing the ‘bone.

“We’ve been playing a lot of teams that have been passing a lot, but I like this kind of game,” Millwood junior linebacker Larry Lambeth said. “I like games that are physical. We’ve just got to have everyone do their one job, stay on their assignment, so the man behind you can do his job.

“If you get greedy, that’s when they beat you.”

Millwood went to Davis in last year’s second round as well, coming away with a 20-7 win. While that game provided good experience for the young Falcons, they know they can’t expect this year to be easier.

“We know since we won last year, they’ll be twice as hungry and twice as eager to beat us,” junior defensive back Cameron Batson said. “So we’ve got to be twice as hungry and twice as eager also. But if we prepare like we should, I think we can go out and do it.”

The toughness aspect is a quality the Falcons especially want to show. Regarded as a fast defense, they want everyone to know they can play physical football, too.

“We’ve got to show that we can play with them, and that they won’t be more physical than us,” junior defensive back Alfonso McMillan said. “We know we’re probably the underdogs going into this game, but we’ll show up.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass running back Chris High received a scholarship offer from Navy last week.

A bright spot in an otherwise frustrating week that saw his team’s season end, Douglass running back Chris High received his first scholarship offer from an FBS program.

Navy extended an offer last Thursday to the 6-foot-1, 185-pound running back, who surpassed the 1,600-yard mark in Friday’s 14-7 loss to Weatherford.

High averaged better than 12 yards per carry for the season, and was among the Trojans’ leading tacklers at linebacker, with more than 70 stops.

High’s first offer was from Morgan State, an FCS school in Baltimore. Teammate Terry Harris verbally committed to Morgan State last month.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Madill, a program known for churning out top-notch running backs in recent years, has scored 40 points or more in seven games this season.

But on the other hand, Star Spencer held seven of 10 opponents to 17 points or fewer, a list that includes No. 1 Kingfisher and Heritage Hall.

Anchored by four-year starting linebacker Kenneth Davis, the Bobcats will need their stout defense to keep the game within reach as they try to win in their first playoff appearance since winning the 2009 4A state championship.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass senior Terry Harris has verbally committed to Morgan State University, an FCS program in Baltimore.

Douglass defensive back Terry Harris verbally committed to Morgan State, an FCS program in Baltimore. Harris received an offer from the school about a month ago and gave his commitment Wednesday.

Harris, a 5-foot-9, 170-pound safety, has long been a soft-spoken leader for the Trojans, playing a key role in the secondary when the Trojans won the Class 4A state title in 2010.

A three-year starter for the Trojans, he currently has 49 tackles and two interceptions, and also plays fullback.

Douglass running back/linebacker Chris High has also been offered by Morgan State.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Since losing its first two games, Douglass has slowly regained momentum during its seven-game win streak, anchored by the run game of Chris High and Chavez Wyatt, who each went over 100 yards last week.

The intriguing matchup Friday will be Douglass’ ability to limit the passing attack of quarterback Wyatt Robson, Ada’s all-time leading passer.

Robson has thrown for 1,559 yards with 22 touchdowns and three interceptions this year, while completing 69.0 percent of his passes.

Douglass will count on defensive end Deondre Clark, who recorded his 20th sack of the year last week, and a secondary anchored by Anthony Williams with seven interceptions.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass junior defensive end Deondre Clark will attend both the Oklahoma-Texas and Baylor-TCU games Saturday as part of a busy recruiting weekend. His older brother, Stephen, will be with him at Baylor as part of his basketball recruiting trip.

Douglass brothers Stephen and Deondre Clark will team up for a day full of recruiting trips on Saturday.

Deondre, a highly recruited 6-foot-3, 235-pound junior defensive end, will begin the day with the Oklahoma-Texas game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas along with several other Sooners recruits. OU was one of the first programs to offer Deondre Clark, whose offer list has reached double-digits now, including Oklahoma State, LSU, Missouri and Texas Tech.

Stephen and Deondre will both head to Waco, Texas, to visit Baylor for its football game against TCU at 6 p.m.

Deondre Clark doesn’t have a Baylor offer yet, but could be closing in on one.

“They said they’re close, so maybe when I’m down there,” Deondre said. “It’s gonna be a fun day. I’m looking forward to the OU-Texas game. I’ve never been in an atmosphere like that.”

The Baylor trip is the second of four scheduled official visits for Stephen Clark, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound point guard who is the state’s top senior basketball prospect.

Stephen Clark visited UCLA last weekend, and will make trips to OSU and Florida State later this month. He also attended OSU’s game against Texas on Sept. 29. He plans to make a college decision in time to sign during the November signing period.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

The suit is in regard to Ingersoll accepting an offer to become the basketball coach at Douglass High School in June, then having the offer rescinded less than a week later.

In paperwork filed Oct. 5 with the EEOC, Ingersoll, age 59, says he met with OKCPS Superintendent Karl Springer in June to inquire about the reason for the offer being rescinded and Springer told him it was due to the “‘totality of our relationship,’ which he declined to elaborate on. No reason was given for hiring a younger, less experienced person for the job.”

Ingersoll told The Oklahoman Tuesday that “my attorney and I did not feel that was an adequate explanation.”

Anthony Andrews, 49, was hired in July as the Douglass coach. Previously, he was the head coach at the Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Tenn., and he coached travel teams on the summer circuit. He most recently had worked as an assistant coach at Newcastle.

“As of (Tuesday), the Oklahoma City Public School District administration has not been served with a lawsuit from Phil Ingersoll alleging discrimination,” Springer said.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

All right, so here’s the weekly rankings explanation/discussion. Class 6A was once again the toughest, although there were plenty of other interesting choices along the way.

CLASS 6A
1. Tulsa Union (3)#4-2
2. Jenks (5)#4-2
3. Broken Arrow (4)#3-3
4. Edmond North (2)#6-0
5. Owasso (6)#3-2
6. Edmond Santa Fe (7)#5-1
7. Sand Springs (9)#6-0
8. Southmoore (10)#5-1
9. Lawton (1)#5-1
10. Norman North (NR)#5-1

This is one I had to deconstruct completely yet again after the weekend’s results that included Southmoore’s win over Lawton, Putnam City’s win over Westmoore and Edmond North escaping against a now 1-5 Yukon team. I thought it would happen a few weeks ago and it has–Union is the best team in 6A again. The Redskins loss to Owasso looks like the bump in the road that it was last year as Union rolled to another title. Sand Springs gets a big test this week when it plays Union. Play the Redskins tight–even in a loss–and the Sandites move up next week. A win in that game and I’ll vault Sand Springs to No. 1.

CLASS 5A
1. Guthrie (1)#6-0
2. Tulsa East Central (2)#2-4
3. Deer Creek (3)#6-0
4. Bishop McGuinness (4)#6-0
5. Tulsa Kelley (5)#4-2
6. Claremore (6)#5-1
7. Coweta (7)#4-2
8. Del City (8)#4-2
9. Lawton MacArthur (9)#4-2
10. Tulsa Memorial (10)#6-0
*Tulsa East Central forfeited four wins.

This one wasn’t too difficult was Claremore’s 20-19 loss to Tulsa East Central was the only loss in the top 10. Claremore stays above Coweta and Del City because their game against East Central was closer. Claremore-Coweta, though, will get sorted out soon enough as the teams face off Oct. 26.

CLASS 4A
1. Wagoner (1)#5-1
2. Cascia Hall (3)#6-0
3. Anadarko (6)#6-0
4. Ada (4)#6-0
5. Clinton (2)#4-2
6. Douglass (5)#4-2
7. Sallisaw (7)#4-2
8. Fort Gibson (8)#6-0
9. Cleveland (9)#6-0
10. Catoosa (NR)#3-3

Anadarko’s big performance deserved to be noticed, and the Warriors move up three places to No. 3, ahead of Ada, Clinton and Douglass. The only other shuffle came in the final spot as Catoosa slips in ahead of Broken Bow and Poteau. Catoosa beat a ranked opponent (Tulsa McLain) and a few weeks ago nearly knocked off Fort Gibson. That puts Catoosa in even against teams with better records.

CLASS 3A
1. Kingfisher (1)#6-0
2. Tuttle (2)#6-0
3. Berryhill (3)#6-0
4. Seminole (4)#5-0
5. Blanchard (5)#6-0
6. Metro Christian (6)#5-1
7. Victory Christian (7)#6-0
8. Sequoyah-Tahlequah (8)#5-1
9. Verdigris (9)#5-1
10. Cushing (10)#5-1

Nice and easy yet again: Everyone wins.

CLASS 2A
1. Vian (2)#6-0
2. Davis (3)#6-0
3. Frederick (4)#6-0
4. OCS (7)#5-1
5. Millwood (1)#5-1
6. Hennessey (5)#4-2
7. Stroud (6)#5-1
8. Adair (9)#6-0
9. Lindsay (8)#4-2
10. Commerce (10)#5-1

The big mover on the positive side was OCS, who knocked off top-ranked Millwood. The Saints’ only loss so far is to Class 3A Jones. Millwood drops to No. 5, just behind OCS. I also flipped Adair and Lindsay after taking in the totality of their seasons to this point.

CLASS A
1. Wynnewood (1)#5-0
2. Wayne (2)#6-0
3. Thomas (3)#6-0
4. Ringling (4)#4-1
5. Texhoma (5)#5-0
6. Fairview (NR)#6-0
7. Cashion (6)#6-0
8. Crescent (7)#6-0
9. Kiefer (8)#6-0
10. Morrison (9)#5-1

None of the teams in the top 10 lost but I promised a reader I’d break down and reassess this class so I did. What I found, for the most part, is that I liked where I had teams. I feel comfortable in Ringling where they are with their one loss (to Davis) and Morrison with theirs (to Alva). I was OK leaving off Empire, Savanna, Talihina, Warner and Summit Christian even with undefeated records. But going over the rankings and results of the first six weeks, I couldn’t ignore what Fairview has done. Friday, they beat Hooker 71-18. So far, they’ve outscored opponents 303-56. Fairview played three opponents that other top 10 teams had played this year and the matchups were favorable for Fairview. It beat Pioneer 63-8 while Cashion beat Pioneer 52-20. It beat Okeene 49-6 while Cashion won 27-20 and Thomas won 26-6. And finally, it beat Hooker 71-18 on Friday, while Hollis won 45-21. I don’t always matchup scores like that because there are a number of factors that could skew things, but when you’re looking at that many games, I couldn’t ignore it. So Farview goes in at No. 10 while Hollis is the unlucky team to slip.

CLASS B
1. Laverne (1)#6-0
2. Wetumka (2)#6-0
3. Pond Creek-Hunter (3)#6-0
4. Fox (6)#6-0
5. Dewar (4)#5-1
6. Garber (5)#5-1
7. Davenport (7)#4-2
8. Rejoice Christian (8)#5-1
9. Covington-Douglas (9)#4-2
10. Alex (10)#5-1

Garber and Dewar both got beat, but they got beat by teams ranked above them. Fox leap-frogged the pair but everything else remains constant.

CLASS C
1. Tipton (1)#6-0
2. Cherokee (2)#6-0
3. Forgan (3)#5-0
4. Ryan (4)#6-0
5. Sharon-Mutual (5)#5-1
6. Thackerville (7)#4-1
7. Webbers Falls (8)#4-1
8. Maud (9)#4-1
9. Balko (10)#5-1
10. Temple (NR)#3-3

Things were just fine until Wesleyan Christian beat No. 6 Deer Creek-Lamont. The next four just move up one spot, but the No. 10 position gave me a bit of heartburn. Deer Creek-Lamont? It just lost to Wesleyan Christian by 22. Wesleyan Christian? It lost to Bluejacket by 36 just last week. Bluejacket? It lost to Deer Creek-Lamont by 16 a couple weeks ago. So welcome to the rankings Temple. Temple has three losses but they came to Class B No. 4 Fox, Class C No. 1 Tipton and No. 4 Ryan (30-20, Tipton’s closest game all season by 10 points).

Cashion’s Cayden Cochran ran for 70 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 173 yards and a score in Valdosta State’s 58-10 win over Edward Waters.

Early in the second quarter, Cochran broke off a 59-yard run.

—
Ohio kept its hopes of being a BCS buster alive with a 37-34 win over UMass at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Former Norman North standout Beau Blankenship ran for a career-high 269 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win. Both of Blankenship’s touchdowns came in the fourth quarter. The first tied the game while the second put Ohio ahead by 10.

Blankenship tied a school records with 43 carries and his 269 yards is the third-highest in school history.

After missing last week’s game, Norman North’s Tyler Tettleton threw for 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tettleton has not thrown an interception in 156 attempts dating back to last year.

Guthrie’s Donte’ Foster had four catches for 55 yards.

—
Sam Houston State didn’t need huge numbers out of Midwest City product Timothy Flanders in a 50-6 win over Texas Southern.

Flanders had 10 carries for 49 yards and caught two passes for six yards in the win.

—
Millwood’s Josh Turner had seven tackles, four solo, in Texas’ 41-36 win over Oklahoma State.

Tulsa Central’s Demarco Cobbs had three tackles for the Longhorns, getting the start at SLB.

—
Carl Albert’s Christian Smith had two tackles and a pass breakup and Jenks’ Orion Jones had a tackle for a loss in Toledo’s 37-17 win over Western Michigan.

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Lawton’s Cornelius Douglas had  two interceptions and three tackles as Texas Tech’s surprising defense helped the Red Raiders to a 24-13 win over Iowa State.

Douglas returned his second interception 40 yards to the Iowa State 9 with the Red Raiders up by one. Two plays later, Texas Tech extended the lead.

Carl Albert’s Tre’ Porter had four tackles and a pass breakup

Owasso’s Jacques Washington led Iowa State with 12 tackles and had an interception.

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Millwood’s Davion Pierson, making the start at defensive tackle, had three tackles in TCU’s 24-16 win over SMU.

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Former Jenks quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen threw for 213 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Northern Iowa’s 33-21 loss to North Dakota State.

Del City’s Tim Clark had a pair of tackles.

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Carl Albert’s Joe Stoner had three tackles and a 47-yard fumble return as New Mexico nearly pulled off an upset of Boise State before falling 32-29.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Stoner picked up the fumble and returned it to the Boise State 1. Two plays later, New Mexico scored to pull to within three. The fumble recovery was Stoner’s seventh of his career.

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Lawton’s Tyrequek Zimmerman had eight tackles, Oregon State’s 38-35 win over Arizona.

Tulsa Washington’s Michael Doctor added two tackles.

Douglass’ Cayman Bundage had a tackle for Arizona.

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Lincoln Christian’s Roman Wilson had a 44-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter of Princeton’s 33-6 win over Columbia.

Wilson had three catches for 73 yards.

Tulsa Kelley’s Mark Hayes had a six-yard reception.

Edmond Santa Fe’s Brian Mills had two tackles.

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Muskogee’s Vernon Scott ran for 26 yards in Missouri State’s 17-7 loss to South Dakota State.

Edmond Santa Fe’s Tre Kelley had a five-yard reception.

Norman North’s Nick Canavan had five tackles while Star Spencer’s Jason Fitch added four. Tulsa Union’s Howard Scarborough had three and a fumble recovery.

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Sequoyah-Tahlequah’s Nathan Stanley threw for 187 yards and a touchdown in Southeastern Louisiana’s 31-21 win over Lamar.

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Glenpool’s Codey Zickefoose led Arkansas Tech with seven tackles in the Wonder Boys’ 41-20 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Zickefoose also had a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry.

Claremore’s Greg Dicks also had one tackle, while Glenpool’s Tim Van Orsdol started on the offensive line.

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Edmond Santa Fe’s Randy Ponder had three tackles, one for a loss, in Missouri’s 21-16 win over Central Florida.

Guthrie’s Kentrell Brothers had a special teams tackle as well.

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Owasso’s Nick Rosa had an 11-yard touchdown reception for Drake in its 35-7 win over Campbell.

Rosa had seven catches for 92 yards to lead Drake in receiving.

Edmond North’s Cam Bohnert had a pair of punts for a 32.5-yard average.

Holland Hall’s Seth Hedman had four tackles.

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Ponca City’s Brent Wilson had eight carries for 20 yards and threw for 42 yards on four completions in Emporia State’s 37-26 win over Lincoln (Missouri).

Muskogee’s Shjuan Richardson had seven catches for 66 yards and Ponca City’s Adam Schlitz had two catches for 36 yards. Richardson also had a pair of kickoff returns.

Midwest City’s Kevin Gaddis returned a kick 27 yards.

McGuinness’ Chris Poston had five tackles. Del City’s Jeff Richards had an interception, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. Luther’s Justin Wilson had one tackle.

Norman North’s Lance Uhles and Collinsville’s Trey Rodgers started on the offensive line for Emporia State.

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Bartlesville’s Kirby Schoenthaler had a pair of catches for 14 yards and Muskogee’s Victor Williams had an eight-yard reception in Dartmouth’s 28-21 loss to Penn.

Schoenthaler also returned three kicks for 72 yards.

Verdigris’ Cohle Fowler started on the offensive line for Dartmouth.

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Norman North’s Beau Traber had eight tackles in Bucknell’s 15-10 loss to Cornell.

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Metro Christian’s Rylan Hess had five tackles in Colorado School of Mines’ 54-28 loss to Western New Mexico.

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Tulsa Union’s Terrell Williams had six tackles and Muskogee’s Robert Thomas had one in Arkansas’ 58-10 loss to Texas A&M.

Broken Arrow’s Alvin Bailey started on the offensive line for the Razorbacks.

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Carl Albert’s David Oku ran for 79 yards and  had three catches for 27 yards in Arkansas State’s 26-13 loss to Western Kentucky.

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McGuinness’ Kris Parham ran for 36 yards and had four catches for 25 yards in Weber State’s 37-13 loss to UC-Davis.

Parham also returned four kickoffs for 76 yards.

Edmond Memorial’s Anthony Morales led Weber State with 11 tackles, including one for a loss. Edmond Santa Fe’s Willie Okwuonu had eight tackles, Edmond Memorial’s David James added four, Edmond Memorial’s Connor Myers had three. Edmond Santa Fe’s Trevor Pletcher had two tackles and a quarterback hurry.

Jenks’ Devin Pugh had a pair of tackles and an interception and Putnam City’s Robbie Diamond had one tackle.

Putnam North’s Josh Booker had one carry. Edmond Santa Fe’s Alex Land started at right guard for Weber State.

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Midwest City’s Ricky Reeves had three tackles and a pair of pass breakups in South Dakota’s 34-31 loss to Illinois State.

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Broken Arrow’s Rowdy Harper started on the offensive line in Houston’s 35-14 win over Rice.

Houston had 608 yards of total offense.

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Marlow’s Colt McCauley started on the offensive line in Southeast Missouri State’s 31-16 win over Jacksonville State.

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Bixby’s Michael Nelson started at wide receiver but had no catches in Missouri Southern’s 35-10 loss to Central Missouri.

One-third of Ohio’s Oklahoma connection missed the Bobcats’ game against Norfolk State on Saturday.

Former Norman North quarterback Tyler Tettleton, who had thrown for 781 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception in Ohio’s first three games, was held out with an undisclosed injury.

USA Today reported that Tettleton’s injury was to his abdomen.

With Derrius Vick in Tettleton’s place, though, the Bobcats didn’t skip a beat.

Norman North product Beau Blankenship ran for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass in Ohio’s 44-10 win over Norfolk State. Blankenship ran for 109 yards, topping 100 yards for the fourth consecutive game.

Guthrie’s Donte’ Foster caught five passes, tying a career high, for 69 yards and two touchdowns, including Ohio’s first less than three minutes into the game. Blankenship’s 24-yard touchdown catch came just three minutes later.

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Carl Albert’s David Oku ran for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Arkansas State’s 56-0 win over Alcorn State. Oku also had a five-yard reception.

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Sequoyah-Tahlequah’s Nathan Stanley hit freshman tight end Taylor Jenkins for a three-yard touchdown pass with 2:39 left to give Southeastern Louisiana a 25-24 upset win over FCS No. 17 McNeese State.

Stanley, a transfer from Ole Miss, was 21 of 35 with 247 yards passing. Stanley also rushed for 29 yards and a touchdown and had a 42-yard punt.

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Millwood’s Davion Pierson, a redshirt freshman, had two tackles and a fumble recovery in TCU’s 27-7 win over Virginia.

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Tulsa Washington’s Michael Doctor had a team-high nine tackles–eight solo–in Oregon State’s 27-20 upset of then-No. 19 UCLA.

Doctor, starting at weakside linebacker, had one tackle for a loss.

Lawton’s Tyrequek Zimmerman, who started at strong safety, added four solo tackles in the upset.

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Midwest City’s Timothy Flanders kept up his big production for Sam Houston State against Central Arkansas.

Flanders ran for  125 yards and a pair of touchdowns and had one reception in the Bearkats’ 24-20 loss in Conway, Ark.

The 100-yard game was Flanders’ 17th of his career at Sam Houston State. He also moved to No. 5 in Southland Conference history in career rushing touchdowns with 39. The conference record is 52.

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Owasso’s Nick Rosa caught a 16-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to put Drake ahead for good in its 28-25 win over Morehead State. Rosa finished with two catches for 22 yards and an eight-yard kick return.

Edmond North’s Cam Bohnert had three punts for a 34-yard average, including one inside the 20.

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Carl Albert’s Christian Smith had four tackles, including a sack, and Jenks’ Orion Jones had three tackles in Toledo’s 38-28 win over Coastal Carolina.

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Muskogee’s Shjuan Richardson had an 11-yard touchdown catch with less than four minutes left to help seal Emporia State’s 30-20 win over Northeastern State. Richardson had three catches for 53 yards and a 23-yard kick return in the win.

Ponca City’s Adam Schlitz had a three-yard reception, Midwest City’s Kevin Gaddis had 44 return yards and Del City’s Jeff Richards had a 23-yard kick return.

McGuinness’ Chris Poston had eight tackles, Alva’s Derek Lohmann, Gaddis and Richards had five each and Luther’s Justin Wilson had two as the Hornets improved to 4-0.

Piedmont’s Jordan McAdoo, Norman North’s Lance Uhles and Collinsville’s Trey Rodgers started on the offensive line, which helped Emporia State post 452 yards of total offense.

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A week after being part of Pittsburgh’s upset over Virginia Tech, the Panthers rolled to a 55-10 win over Gardner-Webb.

Tulsa Washington’s Isaac Bennett scored Pitt’s final two touchdowns in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Bennett ran for 52 yards.

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This one has been covered a bit but Tulsa Washington’s Tyler Lockett had four catches for 37 yards and Jenks’ Tramaine Thompson had three catches for 49 yards in Kansas State’s 24-19 upset at Oklahoma.

Thompson had a third-down reception for a first down on each of Kansas State’s final two drives.

Thompson and Lockett each had one rushing attempt as well as a kickoff return each.

Tulsa Washington’s Dante Barnett had one tackle, while fellow Hornet Keenan Taylor started on the offensive line.

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Carl Albert’s Joe Stoner had four tackles in New Mexico’s 27-14 win over rival New Mexico State. Stoner also recovered a fumble and had a pass break up. The recovery was the sixth of Stoner’s career.

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Glenpool’s Israel Maselera returned a punt for a touchdown to start Pittsburg State’s 59-17 win over Lincoln.

Sand Springs’ Darrack Harger ran for 12 yards and threw for 34 yards.

Sand Springs’ Tyler Smith started at left guard.

Defensively, Tulsa East Central’s Dino Teague had five tackles, Tulsa Washington’s Aries Herrion and Catoosa’s Joe Uzzel had two each. Sand Springs’ Matt Anderson and Maselera had one tackle.

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Tulsa Kelley’s Mark Hayes had a 10-yard touchdown reception but Princeton fell 21-20 to Georgetown. The catch was Hayes’ only reception.

Lincoln Christian’s Roman Wilson had two catches for a team-high 62 yards.

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Heritage Hall’s Turner Petersen scored on a 30-yard run in the first quarter of Rice’s eventual 54-51 loss to Marshall in double overtime.

Petersen had 16 carries for 76 yards on the ground and caught a pair of passes for 20 yards.

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McGuinness’ Kris Parham is a running back but his biggest play in Weber State’s 32-26 loss to Eastern Washington was a pass.

Parham threw a 33-yard completion in the second quarter. He finished with 31 yards rushing on three carries and had a pair of kick returns. Putnam North’s Josh Booker had a single four-yard carry.

Edmond Santa Fe’s Trevor Pletcher caught a late two-point conversion pass.

Defensively, Edmond Memorial’s Anthony Morales led the Wildcats with 16 tackles, three for loss. Another former Bulldogs standout, David James, added six tackles, as did Jenks’ Devin Pugh. Pletcher also had three tackles.

Putnam City’s Robbie Diamond, Edmond Memorial’s Connor Myers and Edmond Santa Fe’s Alex Land had a tackle each.

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Lawton’s Sonny Puletasi had a pair of tackles, including a sack for 11 yards, in Wyoming’s 40-37 overtime win over Idaho.

Puletasi’s sack came in the closing seconds of the first half and he both forced and recovered a fumble on the play.

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Midwest City’s Ricky Reeves had a tackle in South Dakota’s 38-7 loss to Northwestern.

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Edmond Santa Fe’s Randy Ponder had seven tackles in Missouri’s 31-10 loss to South Carolina.

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Verdigris’ Cohle Fowler started on the offensive line for Dartmouth in its 13-10 win over Holy Cross. Bartlesville’s Kirby Schoenthaler had one two-yard reception in the win.

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Tulsa Union’s Terrell Williams had 12 tackles, one for a loss, in Arkansas’ 35-26 loss to Rutgers.

Muskogee’s Robert Thomas added four tackles and Tulsa Washington’s Eric Bennett three.

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Glenpool’s Codey Zickefoose had five tackles in Arkansas Tech’s 31-24 loss to Ouachita Baptist. Glenpool’s Tim Van Orsdol started on the offensive line for the Wonder Boys.

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Tonkawa’s Jake Love and Tulsa Washington’s John Williams had two tackles each in Kansas’ 30-23 loss to Northern Illinois. Owasso’s Gavin Howard started on the offensive line.

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Muskogee’s Vernon Scott had 14 yards rushing and a reception in Missouri State’s 14-6 loss to Southern Illinois.

Norman North’s Nick Canavan had five tackles and Tulsa Union’s Howard Scarborough had four in the loss.

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Norman North’s Beau Traber had four tackles–assisting on a sack–in Bucknell’s 20-14 loss to Lafayette.

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Idabel’s Kevin Rucker had a tackle in Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s 24-21 win over Alabama State.

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Metro Christian’s Rylan Hess had three tackles and a pass breakup in Colorado School of Mines’ 42-37 loss to New Mexico Highlands.

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Marlow’s Colt McCauley started on the offensive line for Southeast Missouri State in its 41-38 overtime win over Tennessee Tech.

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Mustang’s Kyle Webster had two pass attempts with no completions and had 16 yards rushing in Missouri Southern’s 16-13 loss to Southwest Baptist. Bixby’s Michael Nelson had one carry for a seven-yard loss.

The Baltimore Orioles said last month they would not bring up phenom Dylan Bundy to the majors in September, preferring to send him to their Florida instructional league team instead of injecting the 19-year-old into the thick of a pennant race.

Wednesday morning, a night after Baltimore used  eight pitchers in an 18-inning win over Seattle, the Orioles relented and called Bundy to the majors, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

Bundy was 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA across three levels this year, rising from Class A Delmarva to high-A Frederick to Double-A Bowie.

Bundy is still nearly two months away from his 20th birthday. If he makes his debut this season, he’d become the 19th Oklahoman to debut in the big leagues before their 20th birthday, according to a search on Baseball-Reference.com.

Here’s a list of the youngest players from Oklahoman to make their debuts. When Bundy debuts, he’ll fall just above Ed Baecht on the list.

17: Roy Jarvis. Born June 7, 1926. Debuted April 30, 1944 for Brooklyn Dodgers. Born in Shawnee and attended Oklahoma City Central High School.

18: Bud Swartz. Born June 13, 1929. Debuted July 12, 1947 for St. Louis Browns. Born in Tulsa.

18: Von McDaniel. Born April 18, 1939. Debuted June 13, 1957 for St. Louis Cardinals. Attended Arnett (Hollis) High School.

18: Jerry Walker. Born Feb. 12, 1939. Debuted July 6, 1957 for Baltimore. Attended Byng HS

18: Cal McLish. Born Dec. 1, 1925. Debuted May 13, 1944 for Brooklyn Dodgers. Born in Anadarko. Attended Oklahoma City Central High School.

18: Jim Baumer. Born Jan. 29, 1931. Debuted Sept. 14, 1949 for Chicago White Sox. Born in Tulsa. Attended Broken Arrow High School.

19: Jerry Hinsley. Born April 9, 1945. Debuted April 18, 1964 for New York Mets. Born in Hugo.

19: Mike McQueen. Born Aug. 30, 1950. Debuted Oct. 2, 1969 for Atlanta Braves. Born in Oklahoma City.

19: Bobby Murcer. Born May 20, 1946. Debuted Sept. 8, 1965 for New York Yankees. Born in Oklahoma City. Attended Southeast High School.

19: Mickey Mantle. Born Oct. 20, 1931. Debuted April 17, 1951 for New York Yankees. Born in Spavinaw. Attended Commerce High School.

19: Johnny Callison. Born March 12, 1939. Debuted Sept. 9, 1958 for Chicago White Sox. Born in Qualls.

19: Jay Porter. Born Jan. 17, 1933. Debuted July 30, 1952 for St. Louis Browns. Born in Shawnee.

19: Virgil Cheeves. Born Feb. 12, 1901. Debuted Sept. 7, 1920 for Chicago Cubs. Born in Oklahoma City.

19: Darrell Porter. Born Jan. 17, 1952. Debuted Sept. 2, 1971 for Milwaukee Brewers. Attended Southeast High School.

19: Lindy McDaniel. Born Dec. 13, 1935. Debuted Sept. 2, 1955 for the St. Louis Cardinals. Born in Hollis. Attended Arnett (Hollis) High School.

19: Johnny Bench. Born Dec. 7, 1947. Debuted Aug. 28, 1967 for Cincinnati Reds. Born in Oklahoma City. Attended Binger High School.

19: Derrell Griffith. Born Dec. 12, 1943. Debuted Sept. 26, 1963 for Los Angeles Dodgers. Born in Anadarko. Attended Anadarko High School.

19: Ed Baecht. Born May 15, 1907. Debuted April 24, 1926 for Philadelphia Phillies. Born in Paden.

The struggles and triumphs of area public schools have been a frequent topic in The Oklahoman through the years. Here are a few of those stories: (Note: Some of the coaches, athletes administrators featured have moved on since the stories were originally written.)

Northwest Classen off to hot start

Sept. 2012  —  None of the players on this year’s team was alive the last time Northwest Classen was 2-0. That was 20 years ago, when the Knights opened with wins over Northeast and U.S. Grant before losing to Capitol Hill.

State Rep. Richard Morrissette brings in Joe Washington to motivate Capitol Hill football team

Oct. 2011  —  After watching Capitol Hill’s 52-0 loss to Ardmore on Oct. 13, Oklahoma State Rep. Richard Morrissette decided he’d had enough. He arranged for the team to tour the state capitol building on Thursday and got Oklahoma legend Joe Washington to speak to the players.
Putnam City West food pantry strives to help high school students battling hunger

Sept. 2011  —  Then-Putnam City West football coach John Jensen, along with fellow coaches, established a small pantry for athletes after noticing a problem of hunger and injuries among players.

U.S. Grant faces an uphill climb in Class 6A

Aug. 2011  —  U.S. Grant is the only Oklahoma City Public School (or Tulsa Public School) in Class 6A. A school with all the challenges of the inner city – large dropout rates, often lack of parental involvement, minimal community support – faces one well-established football program after another. Lawton High. Mustang. Edmond North. Westmoore. Putnam City.

High school coaches know instilling pride is key to turning around a program

Aug. 2011  —  Several of the city area’s struggling football programs have new coaches this season, with new enthusiasm for turning their team around. But most of them seem to know that coaching isn’t among their primary tasks in building a winning football team at places such as Western Heights, Northeast, Northwest Classen, Capitol Hill or U.S. Grant.

Star Spencer’s championship game win over Douglass a night of hoping and believing

Dec. 2009  —  Star Spencer beat Douglass 34-21 in the Class 4A state championship game Saturday night, giving Oklahoma City Public Schools its first football title in 14 years. In a class with perennial powers Weatherford, Bishop McGuinness and Glenpool, the gold trophy is going home with one of the forgottens. One of the schools with inferior facilities and little hope.

The Pride of OKC: Douglass and Star Spencer will meet in a state title game

Dec. 2009  —  In both the Douglass and Spencer communities, people are excited. Not only are the teams playing for the state title, but they’re playing against each other — which is the first time in state football playoff history that two Oklahoma City Public Schools’ teams have met in a championship game. Now, for the first time since John Marshall won the 1995 Class 5A title, the Oklahoma City Public Schools is guaranteed of having a state football champion.

The Future of Athletics for OKCPS

Aug. 2009  —  District athletic director Phil Ingersoll has a plan to make OKC schools more competitive in football.

Home disadvantage for OKCPS teams

Aug. 2009  —  As a football player in the Oklahoma City Public Schools, Ken Berry doesn’t envy the things that other teams have. That might surprise those outside the inner-city schools, but the district has increased its commitment to football and upgraded uniforms, equipment, even facilities in recent years. The locker room that Berry and his teammates use is only a couple years old, thanks to MAPS for Kids, while the No. 22 jersey that the standout linebacker will wear on Friday nights is only a year old. Berry wants for nothing. Except wins.

Coaches at Oklahoma City Public Schools face big hurdles

Aug. 2009  —  Terrell Love admits it won’t be an easy job. The new football coach at U.S. Grant understands the challenges that lie ahead if he’s to help turn the Generals around.

A look at how Oklahoma high school alums fared in out-of-state college action over the weekend:

A week before Kansas State comes to Norman, a couple of former Oklahoma high school stars turned in big performances in the WIldcats’ 35-21 win over North Texas on Saturday night.

The Mean Green took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when former Tulsa Washington standout Tyler Lockett returned the kick 96 yards to tie the game up.

The next two Kansas State touchdowns were scored by former Jenks standout Tramaine Thompson–one from 38 yards out and the other from 21.

Thompson finished with five catches for 102 yards. Lockett added another 23-yard kick return and a six-yard catch.

Tulsa Washington’s Keenan Taylor started on the offensive line for Kansas State. Dante Barnett (Tulsa Washington), Andre McDonald (Choctaw) and Zach Trujillo (Deer Creek) played but didn’t record any stats in the win.

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This is becoming a weekly staple but once again the Oklahoma connection paid off for Ohio. Norman North’s Tyler Tettleton threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 35 yards, former Timberwolves standout Beau Blankenship ran for 102 yards and Guthrie’s Donte’ Foster had three catches for 30 yards in the Bobcats’ 27-24 come-from-behind win over Marshall.

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Former Tulsa Washington standout Isaac Bennett had two rushes for eight yards and two catches for 14 yards in Pittsburgh’s 35-17 upset of Virginia Tech.

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Not much positive came out of Arkansas’ 52-0 blowout at the hands of Alabama.
Former McGuinness standout kicker Cameron Bryan came up with a nice play on special teams, sprinting down and downing a punt inside the 5 in the first half.

Bryan handled kickoff duties in eight games for Arkansas in 2009 but after Zach Hocker continued to solidify himself in the kicker roll just prior to the season, Brayn asked to be given a chance to play on kick coverage.

You can read more about him here: http://newsok.com/mcguinness-product-cameron-bryan-joins-arkansas-kickoff-coverage-team/article/3707537

Tulsa Washington’s Eric Bennett had six tackles, Tulsa Union’s Terrell Williams had one and Muskogee’s Robert Thomas had a pair of quarterback hurries.

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Former Tulsa Central standout Demarco Cobbs had four tackles and Millwood’s Josh Turner had three tackles in Texas’ 66-31 win at Ole Miss. Cobbs got the start at strongside linebacker.

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Former Carl Albert star David Oku ran for 44 yards and had 11 yards receiving in Arkansas State’s 42-13 loss to Nebraska.

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Carl Albert’s Christian Smith had three tackles and Jenks’ Orion Jones had one in Toledo’s 27-15 win over Bowling Green.

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Metro Christian’s Rylan Hess had four tackles in Colorado School of Mines’ 42-19 win over Black Hills State. Hess also had a blocked pass.

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NCAA Division II No. 1 Pittsburg State beat Southwest Baptist 52-9 on Saturday with the help of a few Oklahomans.
Catoosa’s Joe Uzzel had three tackles and Israel Maselera and Dino Teague (Tulsa East Central) had two tackles. Teague had a sack. Darrack Harger (Sand Springs) was 2-for 3 with 18 yards passing and rushed for -6 yards.
Uzzel started at defensive end, while Collinsville’s Chance Riley started at tight end and Sand Springs’ Tyler Smith at left guard.

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Former Millwood star Davion Pierson continues to impress at Texas Christian. Pierson started and had five tackles–1.5 for loss (0.5 sacks)–in TCU’s 20-6 win over Kansas.
Tulsa Washington’s John Williams had three tackles for Kansas. Owasso’s Gavin Howard started on the offensive line for the Jayhawks.

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Timothy Flanders, a former Midwest City star, scored a touchdown late in the first half as Sam Houston State built a lead on Baylor. But the Bears came back to win 48-23. Flanders ran for 84 yards and had another 56 yards receiving in the loss. Former Norman North standout K.J. Williams played for SHSU as well.

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Lawton Sonny Puletasi usually starts for Wyoming at defensive end but made a mark on the other side Saturday, catching a two-point conversion pass in the second quarter of the Cowboys’ game against Cal Poly. It wasn’t enough, though, as Wyoming fell 24-22. Puletasi had three tackles, while Tulsa Washington’s T.J. Smith saw time for Wyoming as well.

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Cayman Bundage, a freshman out of Douglass, didn’t start but saw playing time in Arizona’s 56-0 blowout of South Carolina State. Owasso’s Trent Spurgeon played for the Wildcats as well.

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Brandon Swindall, a Millwood product, played for Utah State as the Aggies nearly pulled off a second consecutive upset, before falling to Wisconsin 16-14.

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McGuinness’ Kris Parham ran for 23 yards and Putnam North’s Josh Booker ran for 9 in Weber State’s 35-21 loss to McNeese State. Parham also had 72 kickoff return yards on three chances. Edmond Santa Fe’s Willie Okwuonu led Weber State with nine tackles–all solo–in the loss. Edmond Memorial’s Anthony Morales had 6.5 tackles, Edmond Memorial’s David James had three, Edmond Santa Fe’s Trevor Pletcher had two, and Putnam City’s Robbie Diamond, Jenks’ Devin Pugh and Edmond Memorial’s Connor Myers had one each.

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Bartlesville’s Kirby Schoenthaler had three catches for 27 yards in Dartmouth’s season-opening 35-7 win over Butler. Muskogee freshman Victor Williams had a carry for three yards and two catches for five yards. Tulsa Union’s Corbin Stall had a sack. Verdigris’ Cohle Fowler started on the offensive line.

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Former Muskogee standout Shjuan Richardson had seven catches for 100 yards and three touchdowns in Emporia State’s 42-14 win over UCO. Ponca City’s Adam Schlitz had four catches for 48 yards and Ponca City’s Brent Wilson had two runs for eight yards in the win.

McGuinness’ Chris Poston had three tackles and an interception, Alva’s Derek Lohmann and Midwest City’s Kevin Gaddis each had five tackles and a forced fumble, Del City’s Jeff Richards had five tackles and Luther’s Justin Wilson had a pair of tackles. Norman North’s Lance Uhles, Collinsville’s Trey Rodgers and Piedmont’s Jordan McAdoo all started on the offensive line as Emporia State racked up 538 yards of total offense. Northwest’s Andre Maupin and Broken Arrow’s Josh Moses also played.

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Lincoln Christian’s Roman Wilson caught a two-point conversion pass with about five minutes left to lift Princeton to within three but Princeton fell to Lehigh 17-14. Wilson had four catches for 40 yards to lead Princeton in receiving and added a 23-yard catch. Tulsa Kelley’s Mark Hayes started at tight end for Princeton while fellow Comet Michael Major saw action.

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Muskogee’s Vernon Scott ran for 46 yards and a touchdown, caught one pass and returned a kick in Missouri State’s 28-23 loss to Murray State. Norman North’s Nick Canavan had seven tackles and Tulsa Union’s Howard Scarborough added three in the loss. Jenks’ Ryan Boatright, Star Spencer’s Jason Fitch and Edmond Santa Fe’s Tre Kelley also saw time for Missouri State.

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Former Heritage Hall star Turner Petersen ran for 47 yards and had 13 yards receiving in the Owls’ 56-37 loss to Louisiana Tech.

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Carl Albert’s Joe Stoner had five tackles in New Mexico’s 49-14 loss to Texas Tech. Another former Titan, Tre’ Porter, played for Texas Tech but did not record any statistics.

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Norman North’s Beau Traber had six tackles in Bucknell’s 19-3 loss to Delaware.

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Owasso’s Jacques Washington had a pair of tackles in Iowa State’s 37-3 win over Western Illinois. Washington started at free safety. Jenks’ Bob Graham also saw time on the offensive line.

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Edmond Santa Fe’s Randy Ponder had five tackles in the Missouri’s 24-20 win over Arizona State. Edmond North’s Xavier Smith had one. Guthrie’s Kentrell Brothers also saw time.

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Owasso’s Nick Rosa scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass and finished with five catches for 60 yards in Drake’s 27-10 loss to Indiana State. Holland Hall’s Seth Hedman had five tackles.

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Bixby’s Michael Nelson had a nine-yard catch in Missouri Southern’s 21-14 win over Lincoln (Mo.). Norman North’s Riley Nolan also played in the win.

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Broken Arrow’s Rowdy Harper started on the offensive line for Houston in the Cougars’ 37-6 loss to UCLA. Norman’s Zach Johnson also saw time.

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Marlow’s Colt McCauley started at left guard for Southeast Missouri in its 35-14 loss to Southern Illinois.

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Glenpool’s Codey Zickefoose, who started at linebacker, had a tackle in Arkansas Tech’s 73-34 loss to Henderson State. Glenpool’s Tim VanOrsdol started at left tackle.

Know someone I missed? Let me know in the comments or with an e-mail.

I haven’t done this the first two weeks because the rankings have been a mess. It’s hard to tell how much a win means through the first couple of weeks of the season. But here it is for this week. Disagree? Think I’m nuts for putting a team too high or too low in your mind? Let me know. The only thing I ask is for a reason why your team should be higher or another team should be lower.

I’ve never been one to conform to the way some rankings change. If a team in the class loses to No. 1 and No. 2, they could still very well be No. 3.

CLASS 6A
1. Tulsa Union (1)#2-1
2. Broken Arrow (2)#1-2
3. Jenks (3)#1-2
4. Lawton (5)#3-0
5. Edmond North (7)#3-0
6. Owasso (6)#0-2
7. Southmoore (10)#3-0
8. Edmond Santa Fe (4)#2-1
9. Mustang (NR)#3-0
10. Westmoore (NR)#2-1

Stillwater and Norman North fall out after losses this week, replaced by newcomer Mustang, who throttled Stillwater and Westmoore, who dropped out last week after losing to Southmoore. Lawton moves up one spot after Edmond North beat Edmond Santa Fe, while North moves up two spots to No. 5. Owasso is 0-2 officially but should be 1-2 after they were handling Muskogee 28-0 before the game was called in Week 2. The Rams are still one of the best teams in the state but had a difficult non-district schedule. Same goes for Broken Arrow and Jenks.

CLASS 5A
1. Guthrie (1)#3-0
2. Tulsa East Central (2)#3-0
3. Lawton MacArthur (3)#2-1
4. Deer Creek (4)#3-0
5. Bishop McGuinness (6)#3-0
6. Tulsa Kelley (NR)#1-2
7. Coweta (5)#2-1
8. Carl Albert (9)#1-2
9. Claremore (NR)#3-0
10. Tulsa Memorial (NR)#3-0

The top four all remain the same. The only loss in the top 5 is Lawton MacArthur’s loss last week to Lawton, one of the top teams in 6A. McGuinness continues to impress in its first season in Class 5A, with a blowout win over Weatherford before it opens district play next week vs. El Reno. Carl Albert justified its continued ranking despite its record with a 31-10 win over previously No. 8 Duncan. Tulsa Kelley, who had losses to Class 6A Bartlesville and to McGuinness coming in, knocked off Coweta to move back into the rankings. Coweta stays in at No. 7, a spot ahead of Carl Albert. Claremore makes an appearance after knocking off McAlester in overtime, while Tulsa Memorial also slides in after its 3-0 start. McAlester, Duncan and Ardmore slide out though all three could find their way back into the top 10 soon.

CLASS 4A
1. Wagoner (1)#2-1
2. Clinton (2)#2-1
3. Cascia Hall (3)#3-0
4. Sallisaw (4)#2-1
5. Ada (5)#3-0
6. Douglass (6)#1-2
7. Anadarko (7)#3-0
8. Glenpool (9)#1-2
9. Fort Gibson (10)#3-0
10. Poteau (NR)#3-0

The top part here remains the same after the top seven all won this week. No. 8 Broken Bow fell to 3A Metro Christian, opening things up for a new entrant. Poteau takes the spot by virtue of its wins at Durant and at Van Buren, Ark., especially. The Pirates just edge Tulsa McLain, who got by Tulsa Central this week. Glenpool picked up its first win, starting to justify its continued ranking with a 27-7 win over Sperry. Glenpool had lost to Berryhill and Cascia Hall to start the season.

CLASS 3A
1. Kingfisher (1)#3-0
2. Tuttle (2)#3-0
3. Berryhill (3)#3-0
4. Seminole (4)#2-0
5. Sequoyah-Claremore (6)#2-1
6. Blanchard (9)#3-0
7. Metro Christian (8)#2-1
8. Victory Christian (NR)#3-0
9. Sequoyah-Tahlequah (5)#1-1
10. Verdigris (NR)#3-0

Easy at the top, tough on the bottom. The top four teams won and Sequoyah-Claremore sliding up past Sequoyah-Tahlequah was a no brainer. After that, though, things get complicated. Blanchard jumps Metro Christian for the overall strength of their resume to this point, having won three games pretty handily so far. Victory Christian moves into the rankings after their stunning come-from-behind win over Sequoyah-Tahlequah. The Indians fall four spots to No. 9, just behind Victory. Verdigris is the other newcomer, winning out over other candidates like Lincoln Christian (2-1), Plainview (2-1), Purcell (2-1), Jones (2-1) and others based on the way they’ve blown out each of their opponents thus far. Perkins dropped out after its loss to Verdigris.

CLASS 2A
1. Millwood (1)#3-0
2. Vian (2)#3-0
3. Davis (3)#3-0
4. Frederick (5)#3-0
5. Hennessey (4)#1-2
6. Stroud (7)#2-1
7. Lindsay (8)#2-1
8. OCS (6)#2-1
9. Adair (9)#3-0
10. Commerce (NR)#2-1

Let’s start at the bottom first. When I put together last week’s rankings, the score in front of me included Commerce getting hammered. Turned out, the score was reported backwards, and Commerce blew away its opponent. They did the same thing last night to yet another out-of-state opponent. They finally play an Oklahoma team this week when they take on Wyandotte. Hennessey’s loss to Kingfisher isn’t anything to be ashamed of as the Yellowjackets are No. 1 in 3A. They are passed, though, be Frederick, which has scored at least 55 points in each game and has outscored its opponents 194-34 through three games. Stroud and Lindsay move up one spot, jumping OCS. The Saints remain at No. 8 after falling to Jones by one point. Caney Valley, Coalgate, Haskell, Hinton are undefeated and just outside the top 10.

CLASS A
1. Wynnewood (1)#3-0
2. Wayne (2)#3-0
3. Thomas (3)#3-0
4. Texhoma (5)#2-0
5. Cashion (6)#3-0
6. Crescent (7)#3-0
7. Morrison (8)#2-1
8. Minco (9)#2-1
9. Hollis (10)#3-0
10. Kiefer (NR)#3-0

Ringling’s going to be all right but after starting 0-2 with a bye week, it had to fall out of the rankings. There’s simply too many solid teams in Class A not to. Texhoma, Cashion, Crescent, Morrison, Minco and Hollis each move up a spot after wins. The newcomer is Kiefer, which has three shutouts to start the season, winning by a combined 104-0. Talihina, Okeene and Ringling are just outside the top 10.

CLASS B
1. Laverne (1)#3-0
2. Wetumka (3)#3-0
3. Pond Creek-Hunter (4)#3-0
4. Dewar (5)#3-0
5. Garber (6)#3-0
6. Fox (8)#3-0
7. Davenport (2)#2-1
8. Rejoice Christian (NR)#2-1
9. Covington-Douglas (7)#1-2
10. Alex (10)#2-1

The question here was how far Davenport fell after losing to Wetumka. Dropped them below the other undefeated ranked teams. Through about keeping them ahead of Fox but the Foxes have a more impressive resume to this point. Rejoice Christian moves in for the first time after a big win over Coyle. Rejoice Christian’s lone loss came to No. 4 Dewar by just 10 points. Rejoice also beat Coyle by a larger margin than Covington-Douglas did earlier, earning them the No. 8 spot. Ringwood could move into the rankings soon after pushing Pond Creek-Hunter.

CLASS C
1. Tipton (1)#3-0
2. Cherokee (3)#3-0
3. Forgan (4)#3-0
4. Ryan (5)#3-0
5. Sharon-Mutual (6)#2-1
6. Deer Creek-Lamont (7)#2-1
7. Webbers Falls (8)#3-0
8. Shattuck (2)#1-2
9. Thackerville (9)#1-1
10. Maud (NR)#3-0

The biggest heartburn here came in the last spot, where it came down to 1-2 Timberlake and 3-0 Maud. Maud has been impressive, but giving up 50 points to Bowlegs in its opener was a bit concerning. But Maud earns the spot after Timberlake fell to Deer Creek-Lamont. Timberlake has a chance to move back in but a pair of blowout losses in its first two opened things up for Maud. Shattuck falls to No. 8 after losing to Forgan. Not much shifting here outside of those teams.

Sanders brings his 0-2 team to town coming off a 48-30 loss to Bishop Dunne. Millwood, on the other hand, has knocked off two of its top rivals, Star Spencer and Douglass, to start the season.

Three Points

1. Who is Winning? In case you missed it, Sanders said his team’s mascot is Winning, for what that’s worth. But regardless, it had to be tough for Millwood to scout these guys much. With only two games behind them, Prime Prep is a significant unknown at this point. Millwood’s ability to react to the unexpected will be a major determining factor in the game.

2. Larry or no Larry? The Falcons’ top linebacker and power running back, Larry Lambeth, hasn’t played since injuring his foot in the first game of the season. He could return tonight, or coach Tony Henry could hold him out another week or two. Millwood has another non-district game next week, so it’s most important to have Lambeth healthy for all six district games and beyond. That said, Lambeth’s strong running style would be a big benefit if the weather gets nasty tonight.

3. To the air. Millwood had plenty of success throwing the ball against Douglass last week, but if the weather turns wet, that could be an issue. Still, if QB London Potts can be on point with his shorter throws, his receivers have the ability to turn those into big plays. The key is not giving the ball away, which Potts was very good about last week.

The Pick

Millwood 35, Prime Prep 28: This is really a blind stab in the dark. It’s impossible to know what to expect from Prime Prep, but I’ve seen Millwood up close, and they know how to win.

NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, the co-coach of the football team at the Dallas-area school he created, Prime Prep Academy, will bring his squad to Millwood for a game at 7 p.m. Friday.

Prime Prep has come under scrutiny over its eligibility to play in games governed by the UIL, Texas’ version of the OSSAA. The school enrolled players from outside its proper boundaries who would not be considered eligible in the first year of the school’s existence, according to reports.

That’s why Prime Prep scheduled Millwood, which originally had a bye this week. Prime Prep had to find opponents outside the UIL, since it could not compete in district play. It opened with a 50-6 loss to Dallas Parish Episcopal on Aug. 31.

Here’s some reading on Prime Prep, in case you’re curious:

Some coaches and players had a run-in with a TV reporter.

The school pulls out of varsity district games in some sports. 

Deion says the team’s nickname is “Winning”

Opposing coach talks to Prime Prep players after beating them 50-6 

Regardless of the circumstances, the Falcons are excited to play in a game that is drawing significant attention in Oklahoma and Texas.

“It’s gonna be a big game,” Millwood junior Quincy Dotson said. “People are gonna be paying attention to it. We’re gonna try our best to be ready for it.”

Millwood coach Tony Henry doesn’t know if he’ll have one of his best players in running back/linebacker Larry Lambeth, who suffered a foot injury in the season opener against Star Spencer.

At the latest, Lambeth hopes to be back for the start of district play in Week 5. The Falcons’ final non-district game is Sept. 21.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Wind snapped power lines near Speegle Stadium on Friday, so the game had to be moved back one night.

The Generals (1-1) used a strong rushing attack that included Lawrence Pullen racking up 131 yards on 18 carries, with Wesley Sanchez adding 78 yards rushing along with a 37-yard reception.

Sanchez also intercepted two passes, and Kimako Thompson picked off one, returning it for a touchdown. Charles Clawson helped the cause with a pair of quarterback sacks.

U.S. Grant will go for its second straight win at Centennial Friday. The Generals’ last multiple-win season came when they went 4-6 in 2003, their last season in Class 5A.

Three Points

1. Trojan blocking. Douglass’ young offensive line got all it could handle from Tulsa Washington last week, but Millwood won’t be able to bring that kind of size in the front seven. However, Millwood might have a little more speed up there, so it will be a different kind of task for the Trojans. They need to establish the run game and protect freshman QB Patrick McKaufman when he tries to throw. They were inconsistent in those areas last week, and it slowed the offense.

2. Falcons in the air. With London Potts at QB, Millwood has a better passing attack this year, to go with a lot of athletic ability at receiver. But the Douglass secondary is one of its strongest areas. If Potts can hit a few big passes early, it will open up the run game for a talented group of RBs.

3. Soul-mentum. The thing that regularly makes the Soul Bowl so great is that neither team can gain enough momentum to get a big lead and put the game away. The opponent always has an answer. If either team should find the strength to do it today, it would surprise me.

The Pick

Douglass 35, Millwood 34: Both teams have more balanced offenses than a year ago, when this was a slugfest of running backs. Look for big plays both on the ground and in the air from each side, and once again, a Soul Bowl Thriller.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Northwest Classen running back Lorenzo Alexander rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1.

Second-year coach Lloyd Smith knows it’s a long process to turn around a Northwest Classen football program that hasn’t enjoyed prosperity in a few decades, but Smith’s work is starting to show some results.

The Knights won three games a year ago, which was a step in the right direction. This preseason, they took third place in the All-City Previews, and opened the regular season with an impressive 35-16 win over a talented John Marshall team last Thursday.

Now, the Knights turn their attention to Northeast, which fell to Tulsa McLain 58-12 in the opener.

With a sophomore at quarterback Northwest is keeping its focus on the ground game, attempting just five passes against the Bears.

Lorenzo Alexander rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries last week, while QB Jalen Harris added 46 yards and two scores on eight attempts.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Tim Flatt, the executive director of the National Christian Homeschool Championships, which oversees the national homeschool championship tournament, told HSLive365.com that Monday night Trier’s mother intends to move to Tulsa, which would make the sophomore shooting guard eligible to play for Tulsa Northeast Oklahoma Association of Homeschools (NOAH) in the coming season.

After playing the last two seasons for the homeschool Oklahoma City Storm, Trier moved to Tulsa with a family friend, but his transfer request to join the NOAH Jaguars was denied last week, because his mother, Marcie, still lived in Oklahoma City.

“After confirming the move of the Trier family to Tulsa, Allonzo Trier will be eligible to play for Tulsa NOAH during the 2012-13 basketball season,” Flatt said. “This has really been a good process for the NCHC. We are happy that NOAH made a proper appeal, the Eligibility Advisory Board made a ruling based on the guidelines, NOAH accepted the EAB ruling and Marcie Trier was able to make a huge sacrifice and move to Tulsa to meet the NCHBC guidelines.”

Trier averaged 24.5 points per game last season and became the first freshman homeschool player in the country to surpass 1,000 points. After a strong summer with the OKC-based Athletes First AAU team, Trier received several scholarship offers, including all four in-state schools and other top programs around the region.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Now to the game.

Three Points

1. No Re-Ward. My prediction, based solely on my knowledge of OSSAA rules, not any type of inside information, is that D.J. Ward will be back at Douglass before the season ends, but he won’t be there with the team tonight. Willis Alexander isn’t the type of coach to look at something as a negative. He always finds the positive in a situation. So he isn’t worrying about Ward’s absence at defensive end and tight end. But it will make a difference. Johnny Jones likely moves back to DE, though he had impressed the team at linebacker in the preseason.

2. Highlighting Clark. Washington can pay a little closer attention to Deondre Clark at the other end now, without Ward, which will make life a little tougher for him. But he’s still an incredibly gifted player who had double-digit sacks without Ward last year. Of course, he didn’t have to face many Class 6A-level offensive lines. Clark moved to fullback on offense, but the team probably needs him more at tight end now to fill Ward’s void. But did the Trojans have enough time to make that shift in practice with just a couple days to work on it? Possibly. Clark knows the TE position, and Terry Harris was already playing a lot of fullback.

3. Blocking the Hornets. Douglass doesn’t have a senior on its offensive line. Washington has three seniors and a junior, at least two of whom will end up playing Division I football in some form. The Hornets have size in the middle and speed on the edge. Douglass needs its run game to get established, so a lot will be asked of that young Trojan O-line.

The Pick

Tulsa Washington 22, Douglass 14. Both of these teams have a lot of talented athletes on defense, and that will rule the day. Ultimately, I think Washington will be able to do a little more offensively than the Trojans.

Former OKC Storm guard Allonzo Trier had his transfer to Tulsa NOAH denied, leaving his immediate basketball future up in the air.

Former Oklahoma City Storm basketball star Allonzo Trier learned Monday that his transfer request to Tulsa NOAH has been denied, leaving his immediate basketball future in uncertainty.

According to HSLive365.com, a website dedicated to covering homeschool sports, the request and subsequent appeal were denied because of National Christian Homeschool Championships rule that states: “A player must live at home with his/her parent, legal guardian or legally responsible person (in the case of foster children or other family hardships) in order to be considered homeschooled.”

Sources told The Oklahoman that Trier recently moved to Tulsa with a close family friend, while his mother remained at her home in Oklahoma City.

Tim Flatt, a former head coach of the OKC Storm now serving as the Executive Director of the NCHC, released the following statement:

“This is both a good day and a sad day for the NCHC. It is very good that once again the Eligibility Advisory Board has voted to maintain a high standard for transfers, as it is important that when private and public schools play our teams they can be confident that they are playing teams that are true local teams, not AAU teams that can recruit without restriction. On the other hand it most likely ends the homeschool career of Allonzo Trier who is one of the top players to ever play homeschool basketball.”

Flatt coached Trier as an eighth-grader with the Storm.

Trier could not be reached by The Oklahoman for comment regarding where he’ll play the upcoming season.

Only a sophomore, Trier already has nearly a dozen scholarship offers from some of the top programs in the region, including all four state schools.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders will bring his Prime Prep Academy football team to Oklahoma City to face Millwood on Sept. 14.

Millwood’s football schedule had an open spot in Week 3, and Prime Prep Academy of the Dallas area has suddenly found itself in need of opponents.

So it was a perfect pairing for the two teams, which have agreed to meet at 7 p.m. on Sept. 14 at Millwood, according to Falcons coach Tony Henry.

Prime Prep, a charter school co-founded by NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was told by the University Interscholastic League, which oversees high school sports in Texas, that it could not field a team for varsity athletics in its district.

Because the game at Millwood is not a District 11-3A game, the UIL ruling has no bearing. The UIL’s decision to ban Prime Prep from varsity district games was based on the school’s use of players from school districts outside the proper parameters.

Prime Prep draws students from 19 school districts, but only those who reside in the Dallas Independent School District are allowed to play varsity sports in the first year of the school’s existence.

According to reports, Prime Prep is expected to open its season Aug. 31 against Parish Episcopal of Dallas, which plays in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, not governed by the UIL.

Millwood, which is in the winner’s bracket of the All-City Preview scrimmages Friday night at Douglass, will open the season Aug. 31 at home against Star Spencer, then head to Douglass for the Soul Bowl Sept. 8.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Millwood junior Larry Lambeth will be a central figure as a running back and linebacker.

One glimpse of Millwood linebacker Larry Lambeth and you can tell he’s ready to wreak havoc on Class 2A ball-carriers.

A starting linebacker since he was a freshman, Lambeth is in the best condition of his career at a rock-solid 235 pounds.

In order to get the best defensive players on the field, Lambeth could play outside linebacker at times, rather than his customary middle spot.

“We want to make sure we’ve got everybody that’s good at a spot they can play,” Lambeth said. “Outside linebacker is new to me, but I’m working hard to learn it. I’ve been coming out here with (starting cornerback) Cameron Batson working on pass coverage. Just doing whatever it takes to get it done.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass standout Stephen Clark was the boys basketball (and best dressed) Player of the Year as a junior, but he'll spend his senior season at Quest Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas.

As it turns out, star point guard Stephen Clark won’t spend his senior season at Douglass after all.

According to his mother, Dorshell Clark, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound scoring machine flew out Saturday morning to Las Vegas, where he will attend Quest Preparatory Academy for his final year before entering college next summer, in a story originally reported by ESPN.com.

Stephen Clark had toyed with the idea of graduating early and enrolling in college this summer. While his academics were in order, he felt like he didn’t have enough time to make the proper decision. His options were limited as well, with only a few of the nearly 30 programs recruiting him having an open scholarship spot for the coming year.

The idea of leaving Douglass was prompted in May, when coach Terry Long, a lifelong friend of the Clark family, left the school to become the head coach at Mustang.

“I think Stephen still had his mind made up that he wanted to leave since Terry wasn’t going to be there,” Dorshell Clark said. “He told me he had nothing else to prove here. He didn’t want to win another title without Terry.”

Clark was the leading scorer the last three seasons for Douglass, which won the Class 4A state championship each season. Clark averaged 25 points and 11 assists per game as a junior, earning The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year honor, among other notable awards.

He is being recruited by top programs in the state and across the country, from Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, to Kentucky, UCLA and Connecticut. He believes Quest Prep gives him the opportunity to play against more and better competition on a national level to prepare himself for the college game.

“He told me he wants to go play against the best guys out there, and that wasn’t going to be there at Douglass,” Dorshell Clark said. “He deserves to get what he thinks he needs to get to the next level.”

Quest Prep is in its first year of existence. Stephen and Dorshell Clark visited the new campus two weeks ago.

“It’s a brand new place, and they painted a really pretty picture,” Dorshell Clark said. “They want Stephen to be the face of their program.

“He really likes the idea of being away from everybody back here. He feels he can go somewhere and focus on his game. No friends, no girls distracting him.”

Clark’s family will remain in Oklahoma City, including his younger brother, Deondre Clark, a highly recruited football player at Douglass.

Deondre Clark, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior defensive end, already has at least a dozen offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, LSU and Missouri.

Dorshell Clark said they have arranged it with Douglass so Stephen can return to graduate with his classmates in May. He had already passed the proper credits to qualify for graduation earlier this summer.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

That year, the Bobcats were Class 4A state champions. It seems like a long time ago, after two difficult seasons trying to rebuild.

But Davis and the other seniors are trying to lead this year’s squad back to its winning ways, reminding the younger players of just what’s possible at Star. It helps that the seniors are playing for the same coach, James Harding, for the second year — the first time during their careers.

“We’ve got newcomers every year, and I try to help them be in the position I was, to start as a freshman,” said Davis, a 5-foot-11, 205-pound linebacker. “I just try to do what I can to help the team.

“The last two years have been tough. We just have to keep going, keep getting better. We’ve got to put it all together to go win games and get back where we used to be.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Class 4A state champion Trent Mewbourn of Heritage Hall is headed to Tulsa after a late offer changed his college plans.

Trent Mewbourn’s college plans encountered a late change.

Originally, the Heritage Hall golfer planned to go to school at Oklahoma, and possibly walk on with the golf team.

But a late offer from Tulsa has him on his way to the next level with a roster spot in hand.

Mewbourn finished his senior season strong, winning the Class 4A regional and state championships. Out of his 11 tournaments, he had five first-place finishes and was second three more times, with an overall stroke average of 71.2.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Trier already has offers from Oklahoma State, Tulsa, Oral Roberts, Houston and a few others. He said he plans to make visits to OU, OSU and Tulsa in the coming weeks, as the start of his sophomore season nears.

An Oklahoman Little All-City selection last season, Trier averaged 24.5 points per game for the Oklahoma City Storm, leading them to the homeschool national championship game.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

And here’s another interesting football-related story to come out of Luther as well. Former Lion defensive lineman Justin Wilson, who lost his home in the blaze, survived the fire by jumping into a pond, along with his father. Here’s the whole story.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

In the span of seven hours Tuesday, I visited three high school practices, where I witnessed pure excitement for a new season at Mustang, pure devastation all across the town of Luther, and pure domination that will be possible from what I rank as the most daunting high school defensive lines assembled in Oklahoma in recent memory.

For those who missed it, here’s what I wrote from Douglass.

And here’s my story and video from Luther.

Mustang, your story is still a day away. Sorry. However, I’m not exaggerating the excitement level at Bronco Stadium Tuesday morning. Offensively, the team is looking forward to a full season under QB Frankie Edwards, who got a few starts a year ago. For Mustang faithful, the offense will go back to looking similar to the Matt Edmonds/Kyle Webster teams in some ways, and different from anything you’ve seen in other ways, essentially in formations, diversity and creativity to get the ball to the best players.

Defensively, the excitement forms around new defensive coordinator Mark Ryan, who has been a head coach in the metro area, most recently at Centennial, where he battled a serious illness that kept him away from the game much of last year. He looks healthy, and he’s taking over a defensive unit with a lot of experience. Many of the current seniors were forced into action as sophomores.

At Douglass, I found myself intently watching non-contact, half-speed lineman drills against air. Typically, something like that would rank somewhere near the excitement level of fencing (either the Olympic sport or actually building a fence).

But I watched and tried to imagine exactly what this DE duo will be capable of. They combined for somewhere between 35 and 400 (exaggeration, not a typo) sacks last year separately. It will be a race to the QB on every third-and-long this season.

As for Luther, I won’t belittle what has happened — and is happening — there by trying to force it into a blog full of football analysis and weakly developed punch lines. To quote Luther coach Shawn Meek, “high school football takes a back seat to real life.” Click the link above to see the story and video, and that tells the story of what I saw in that courageous yet devastated town on Tuesday.

I’ll make the rounds again on Wednesday, including a few hours at the OSSAA for a board meeting, but I’ll be sure to hit a couple practices and share my thoughts once again.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Former Putnam City North pitcher Jace James, center, signed with the Missouri baseball team last week.

Former Putnam City North baseball player Jace James has taken the next step in his baseball career, signing with Missouri last week.

James, a 2011 PC North grad, played last season at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, where he was 4-0 with a 1.59 earned-run average and 10 saves in 23 appearances.

James allowed 18 hits and six walks with 39 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings. He gave up only three extra-base hits, and opponents batted just .171 against him. He will be classified as a sophomore next season at Missouri.

James was a Big All-City first-team selection as a senior at PC North in the spring of 2011, going 8-2 with a 1.77 ERA and 86 strikeouts. He also played infield, hitting five home runs and driving in 46 runs, playing a huge role in getting the Panthers to the state tournament.

In addition, he was a two-year starter at quarterback for the Panthers football team, guiding them to the playoffs in 2009.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Andrews’ hire was approved by the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education on Monday night, officially filling the void of Terry Long, who left in May to become the head coach at Mustang.

“This is a tremendous opportunity,” said Andrews, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Newcastle. “I don’t know what my biggest challenge will be, other than continuing the tradition. Terry Long built a great program, and I look forward to getting going at Douglass.”

Andrews takes over a Trojan squad led by senior-to-be Stephen Clark, The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year last season. Clark has led Douglass to state championships in each of his first three seasons.

Of course, state titles are a common expectation for Andrews. He won four as a player at Millwood under coach Varryl Franklin from 1978-81.

He started his college career at Central Oklahoma under coach Eddie Evans, the father of current UCO coach Terry Evans. But after Eddie Evans was let go, Andrews decided to leave as well, ultimately finishing his playing career with two seasons at Oklahoma State. There, he briefly teamed with older brother Lorenza Andrews.

Anthony Andrews turned down invitations to two NBA camps and went to work for Conoco, working in Billings, Mont., Houston and Chattanooga, Tenn.

He moved back to Oklahoma three years ago, and spent a year helping the basketball programs at Millwood and in the OKCPS district.

Previously, he was the head coach at the Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, and he coached travel teams on the AAU circuit as well.

Andrews also has a family connection to Douglass. Both of his parents attended the school, and his father was on the Trojans’ 1949 team that won a state championship prior to being admitted to the OSSAA.

“Douglass has a great tradition, and I want it to be a perennial power, not just in the state, but in this part of the country,” Andrews said. “Terry had already started that, traveling out of state, and that’s something we want to continue. I’d like to get this program on the national map and stay there.”

Andrews’ hire ends a long — and sometimes strange — coaching search at Douglass. Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll, who won three state titles at Douglass in the 1980s, had accepted an offer to return as the Trojans’ coach, but had the offer rescinded four days later. The two sides have since cleared the air over what could have been an ugly situation.

In addition, Clark toyed with the idea of graduating early and beginning his college career in the fall. But he chose instead to remain in high school for his senior season. Clark was one of two players who were part of the interview committee that selected Andrews.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

OKC Storm guard Allonzo Trier, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard who will be a sophomore in the fall, has received scholarship offers from Oklahoma State and Tulsa.

OKC Storm sophomore-to-be Allonzo Trier has never lacked for motivation to make himself a better basketball player, and his first two college scholarship offers aren’t going to change that.

In fact, they might push him even harder.

Trier, rated as one of the nation’s top players in the class of 2015, received offers from Oklahoma State and Tulsa on Wednesday, the first of many to come for the young player.

“The offers are great, but it’s nothing special and doesn’t mean I made it yet,” Trier said. “It just means it’s time for me to continue to get better and improve, and if I do that, more offers will come.”

Trier also is being recruited by Oklahoma and a several other programs across the country. A strong summer performance has helped Trier grab even more attention.

In addition to playing with the Athletes First AAU squad, he was rated as a top-10 player at the Nike Elite 100 camp earlier this month.

Trier, a 6-foot-2 guard, averaged 24.5 points per game and helped the OKC Storm to a runner-up finish in the National Homeschool Tournament as a freshman. He finished the year with more than 1,000 total points, setting the national homeschool record for scoring by a freshman.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass sprinter Madison Reynolds will run track for Oral Roberts next year.

After helping to lead Douglass to back-to-back state track championships, Madison Reynolds was given yet another honor, being named Oklahoma’s Gatorade Girls Track Athlete of the Year on Wednesday.

As a senior, Reynolds won the 200 meters in 25.72 seconds and the 400 in 56.30, earning The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Girls Track Athlete of the Year for the second straight season.

Reynolds plans to attend Oral Roberts University, where she’ll continue to focus on the 200 and 400 meters. Her strength is the 400, which she won three times at state in her career.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Karl Springer isn't hiding his Thunder Pride anymore. He has placed a friendly wager on the NBA Finals with the Miami-Dade County superintendent.

Oklahoma City Public Schools Superintendent Karl Springer and Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho are putting their city support in action.

The two have agreed on a friendly wager on the NBA Finals series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat.

The Heat lead the series 2-1 heading into Game 4 Tuesday night in Miami.

If the Heat win the series, Springer will wear a Heat jersey and teach a class on Florida history at an OKCPS school after classes resume Aug. 1. If the Thunder wins, Carvalho will wear a Thunder jersey and teach a lesson on Oklahoma history to Miami-Dade County students in August.

“I am looking forward to seeing the pictures from Miami when Mr. Carvalho wears the OKC Thunder blue,” Springer said. “I have full confidence in our team and this is a great chance for Floridians to learn more about Oklahoma City and our state.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass basketball star Stephen Clark, seated center in the photo with his mother and brothers, will officially be staying at Douglass for his senior season, rather than graduating early to enter college in the fall.

The wild roller-coaster ride that the last month has been appears to finally be over for Douglass basketball standout Stephen Clark.

In a text message to The Oklahoman late Monday night, his mother, Dorshell Clark, confirmed that her son will remain at Douglass, rather than graduate early to enter college in the fall.

“Stephen advised me (Monday night) that he wants to stay in school and complete his senior season,” Dorshell Clark said. “He said he didn’t give himself enough time to make such a big decision.”

Stephen Clark had been looking into opportunities at a half-dozen or more colleges for the fall, but he’ll have four times as many possibilities by staying in the 2013 class. Harvard is the latest program to come on board in pursuit of the 5-foot-11, 175-pound point guard, who has more than 25 scholarship offers.

Clark averaged 25 points and 11 assists as a junior, leading the Trojans to their third consecutive state championship. By staying, he’ll get one more season with his younger brother, Deondre, who plays basketball, but has developed into a highly targeted football prospect. He will be a junior in the fall, but already has seven major-college offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and LSU.

One piece of the Douglass basketball puzzle remains unsolved, however. The Trojans still don’t have a coach, following Terry Long’s departure to take the head job at Mustang.

Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll, who worked as the athletic director for Oklahoma City Public Schools until February 2011, had accepted the job, but had the offer rescinded last week. Yet that volatile situation has calmed, according to Ingersoll, who recently met with OKCPS Superintendent Karl Springer.

“I got to meet with the superintendent and he took full responsibility for what we both saw as mistakes in the interview and job offer process,” Ingersoll said. “He said he could not recommend me to the Board of Directors because of the totality of our relationship.

“Now I can move on with my life, and I wish the Douglass program all the luck, and hopefully success, in the world.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

The star point guard is in the process of completing the necessary courses to be able to graduate early, and he has scheduled visits to Oklahoma State and UCLA, though he is looking at other schools as well, should he decide to reclassify into the class of 2012. Connecticut, Missouri and Florida State have also been among colleges Clark has considered.

However, Wednesday’s news that former Douglass coach Phil Ingersoll is expected to come out of retirement to coach the Trojans could play a part in the decision.

Ingersoll has occasionally visited Douglass practices and games over the years. He was the head coach for Terry Long, who led the Trojans to three straight 4A titles with Clark as his leading scorer. Long left to take the head coaching job at Mustang last month. Clark and Ingersoll also attend the same church.

“He coached my coaches,” Clark said. “I like the way my coaches are, so I’d probably like the way he coaches.”

Clark has said he hopes to make a decision by the end of June. Since the National Letter of Intent signing period has already passed, Clark would not be required to sign with a college. He would make his decision, then enroll in classes when he chooses to begin.

“I feel a lot closer to a decision, but I still want to get the opinion from the people who are close to me and I know have my best interest at heart,” he said. “Right now, I’m just working to finish these classes and go take some visits.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Last basketball season was a special one for the Douglass Trojans in more ways than one.

Not only did they win their third straight Class 4A state championship, they were followed for parts of the season by an MTV camera crew working on a documentary called “Nothing But Net,” which goes inside the lives of players at Douglass and New York City’s Wadleigh High School in Harlem.

As part of the show, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant visited Douglass to mentor the students and discuss his path to the NBA.

“He let us know what we need to be doing and the choices we need to make to get where he is,” said Douglass point guard Stephen Clark. “He told us about eating right and going to bed at night.

“It was a great experience. Being part of what we got to do has really been a blessing, and that was a big part of it.”

Clark and his teammates were given some all-black Nike Kevin Durant shoes as well.

Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks served as a mentor at Wadleigh.

“Nothing but Net” will air as a two-part series at noon Sunday and June 17 on MTV2.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll is expected to come out of retirement and return to Douglass as its new boys basketball coach.

A search committee set out to find Douglass’ new boys basketball coach, and found one of their old ones.

Hall of Fame coach Phil Ingersoll is expected to come out of retirement to take over the Trojans, assuming the search committee’s recommendation passes through all the formalities with the Oklahoma City Public Schools administration.

“There’s still some paperwork and things, but I don’t expect any hangups,” district athletic director Keith Sinor told The Oklahoman Wednesday morning.

Ingersoll won three state championships coaching Douglass in the 1980s, then won two at Northeast in 2002 and 2004 before walking away from coaching.

He will replace Terry Long, who left last month to become the head coach at Mustang after leading the Trojans to three consecutive Class 4A state titles. Long played for Ingersoll in the 1980s.

“This is good for the school,” said Douglass athletic director Willis Alexander, who also played for Ingersoll. “He understands Douglass High School. He helped build the program into what it is now. I’m happy for him, and I’m happy that the school gets a good coach, who really cares about the school, the kids and the community.”

In an unrelated change, Alexander will step down as the school’s athletic director, and serve only as the Trojans’ football coach next school year, a move that, in part, will allow him to spend more time with his young children.

Matt Peters, a former Douglass girls basketball coach, will fill the void as on-site athletic director.

Ingersoll has been involved with OKCPS on a coaching or administrative level for the better part of four decades. One of his first coaching jobs was as an assistant at Star Spencer, where he was part of three straight titles under coach Johnnie Johnson in the late 1970s.

He left coaching in 2004, and in 2007, he was hired as the athletic director at OKCPS, but announced his retirement in the spring of 2011.

At that time, he wanted to turn his focus to the trial of a man who had been accused of murdering Ingersoll’s 21-year-old son in a drive-by shooting. The man was found not guilty last November.

“For what he’s been through, this is healthy for him,” Alexander said. “When he was the district AD, I still called him ‘Coach,’ and I always will. This is a good situation. He’s a veteran coach who understands the dynamics of Oklahoma City Public Schools and Douglass High School.

“This is not a guy at his first rodeo.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Oklahoma State was the first school to offer the defensive end a scholarship in April, and OU became the fifth with their offer on Sunday, while Clark was attending the Sooners’ prospect camp in Norman.

Missouri, Texas Tech and Mississippi State have also offered scholarships to Clark, a 6-foot-3, 230-pounder who also plays tight end.

Clark, the younger brother of Douglass basketball standout Stephen Clark, finished his sophomore season with 75 tackles, 18 sacks and 16 quarterback hurries, as well as 12 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Texas Tech became the second Big 12 football program to offer Deondre Clark a scholarship, extending an offer on Wednesday, Douglass coach Willis Alexander said.

Clark, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end, will be a junior in the fall. He has been playing significant minutes for the Trojans since his freshman year, starting at both defensive end and tight end as a sophomore.

He finished the season with 75 tackles, 18 sacks and 16 quarterback hurries, as well as 12 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. He also has offers from Oklahoma State and Missouri.

MTV show featuring Stephen Clark and the Trojan basketball team to air in June

The constant lurking of video cameras never derailed Douglass’ charge for a third straight basketball state championship, and now, the players get to find out if it was all worth it to share their locker room and their lives with MTV.

The show, “Nothing but Net,” will air as a two-part series on June 10 and 17, each being televised at noon central time.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass junior basketball standout Stephen Clark, front, is considering the idea of graduating a year early and enrolling in college this fall.

The shock of losing his head coach to another school has shaken Douglass basketball star Stephen Clark to the point that he is considering reclassification to graduate a year early and enter college this fall, his mother told The Oklahoman Friday.

Clark’s mother, Dorshell Clark, said her son has checked with the school to make sure he has the proper credits to graduate early, and the family has been working in accordance with NCAA Clearinghouse guidelines since early in his high school career, when it became clear he would be a Division I recruit. (Clark’s first scholarship offer came at the end of his freshman year.)

Clark is a strong student, and has been doing advanced work in some of his classes, long before this option presented itself.

Dorshell Clark said Stephen hasn’t made an official decision yet, but in addition to making sure his schoolwork is in order, they have contacted some of the more than two dozen college programs recruiting him to see if they would have an opening for him in the class of 2012, instead of 2013.

“We haven’t called all of them, but we’ve called some of them,” she said. “We haven’t been told ‘No’ yet.”

The idea was prompted with news early this week that long-time Douglass coach Terry Long — also a long-time friend of Dorshell Clark – was leaving to become the new head coach at Mustang.

It has been very important to Clark to graduate from Douglass, where his mother and two older brothers each graduated from, but he doesn’t want to play for another coach in his senior year.

“It really breaks my heart. I’m not ready for him to be finished with high school yet,” Dorshell Clark said. “But right now, he sees it as a possible option.”

Stephen Clark, 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, was The Oklahoman’s Super 5 Player of the Year after averaging 25 points and 11 assists as a junior, leading the Trojans to their third consecutive Class 4A state title. Clark has been the leading scorer on all three championship teams.

Considered a top-100 recruit in the 2013 class by virtually every national recruiting service, Clark has more than 25 scholarship offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Connecticut, Missouri, Arkansas, Florida State, Marquette, Georgia and Memphis.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

The Mustang Board of Education approved the move at its regular meeting late Monday night.

Long will fill the void created when Alan Green moved into a full-time role as the school’s compliance officer, which was announced last month.

Long was also considered a candidate for the head job at Edmond Santa Fe, which went to former Mount St. Mary coach Lenny Hatchett last month.

Mustang, which is the largest school on the west side of the state, was riddled by injuries last season and struggled to a .500 record. But in the 2010-11 season, the Broncos were a top-five team, despite falling one win short of the state tournament.

Over the last three seasons at Douglass, Long’s teams lost seven games — six of those to out-of-state competition. The Trojans were led by point guard Stephen Clark, a nationally recruited prospect who will be a senior next season.

Douglass will be a highly sought-after coaching position, along with current vacancies at Guthrie and Mount St. Mary.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass' Te'era Williams was the Little All-City Player of the Year after leading the Trojans to their first state tournament in 20 years. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Douglass girls’ basketball standout Te’era Williams has signed with Texas Southern, her mother said

Williams, who was The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Player of the Year after leading the Trojans to their first state tournament in 20 years, had signed with Grambling State, but was granted a release after coach Donnita Rogers was fired.

Williams averaged 27.3 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals as a senior.

Douglass sophomore Deondre Clark, back center, gives the family another sought-after recruiting prospect, this one on the football field.

The first official scholarship offer is on the table for Douglass sophomore defensive end Deondre Clark.

Oklahoma State extended an offer on Thursday, Douglass coach Willis Alexander said.

Clark played a significant amount as a freshman on Douglass’ Class 4A state championship team in 2010, and started at both defensive end and tight end as a sophomore.

He finished the season with 75 tackles, 18 sacks and 16 quarterback hurries, as well as 12 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

Clark has a busy summer planned, with stops at a variety of major-college camps and elite combines.

Clark, 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, is the younger — but much bigger — brother of Douglass basketball star Stephen Clark, a 5-foot-11 junior who has more than 20 scholarship offers, including OSU.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass basketball standout Te'era Williams, left, and her mother, Lenora Love, right. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Douglass’ Te’era Williams got a release from her Grambling State letter of intent after all.

Grambling State athletic director Percy Caldwell reversed the previous denial and informed Williams and her mother, Lenora Love, in an email Friday morning.

Last week, the Douglass basketball standout was denied the release she requested after coach Donnita Rogers was fired in March.

Williams signed with Grambling State in November. After her release was denied, Williams began visiting junior colleges. She wouldn’t have needed a release to play at the junior-college level.

But if she wanted to begin her NCAA Division I hoops career at any other school besides Grambling State in the fall, she needed the release she was granted Friday.

Now, Williams is left hoping that a Division I school still has a scholarship available for her. She said last month she was interested in Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Wichita State.

Williams was The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Player of the Year after averaging 27.3 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals per game as a senior, when she led Douglass to its first state tournament appearance in 20 years.

Millwood's Quira Demery, right, will play college basketball at Tennessee Tech,. PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN

Millwood senior basketball standout Quira Demery signed with Tennessee Tech, which plays NCAA Division I basketball in the Ohio Valley Conference, on Thursday.

Demery led Millwood to the Class 3A state championship as a senior, averaging15.9 points per game through the season.

In the state tournament, Demery averaged 16.7 points, including a 21-point, 11-rebound performance in the Falcons’ title-game win over Prague.

Demery’s performance helped Millwood snap a three-year streak of runner-up finishes.

Douglass' Te'era Williams was the Little All-City Player of the Year after leading the Trojans to their first state tournament in 20 years. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Douglass senior basketball standout Te’era Williams was denied a release from her letter of intent by Grambling State, her mother said.

Williams, who signed with Grambling State in November, requested the release in March after coach Donnita Rogers was fired. Lenora Love, Williams’ mother, said they are appealing Grambling’s denial but are also looking at junior colleges as a backup plan, starting with a Tuesday visit to Carl Albert State College in Poteau.

Williams wouldn’t need a release from Grambling to play at a junior college, and could transfer anywhere after one year.

Williams was The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Player of the Year after averaging 27.3 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals per game as a senior, when she led Douglass to its first state tournament appearance in 20 years.

Londaryl Perry teaches his history class at Northeast Academy. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

This is the final post in a five-part blog series, continuing the life story of Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry, The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Coach of the Year.

Perry was profiled in Tuesday’s newspaper, but his life story is too fascinating to be held to one story. This blog post will focus on Perry’s military career. Here is the full blog schedule:

Tuesday: Perry’s basketball career

Wednesday: More on Perry’s mother and two brothers

Thursday: Perry’s first coaching job

Friday: Perry’s military career

Saturday: The state of Perry’s family today

****************************************************

At age 34, Londaryl Perry received word that another uncle had died because of drugs.

His uncle James, who had no insurance and had been a drug addict for most of his life, didn’t have an overdose. The drugs just finally took a toll on his body.

“This particular uncle, even though he was on drugs, he was probably the happiest druggie and alcoholic you’d ever meet,” Perry said. “He was always happy and he was going to make you smile.”

Perry was in Iraq for the second time, this time as a civilian contractor, when his cousin told him about James’ death.

The family was scrambling around, trying to find a way to pay for funeral and burial costs. They had decided to cremate him and not have a funeral because they didn’t have enough money.

Perry told his cousin to get with a funeral service and tell him how much it costs. He offered to pay for everything, on the condition that a letter he wrote would be read at the funeral.

The family agreed, and Perry wrote a letter pleading for his family to change. Getting off drugs was part of it, but Perry also wanted his family to be closer.

Now that Perry is back in Oklahoma City, he makes sure they live up to it. Every family holiday is spent at Perry’s home, with around 40 people there each time — including Perry’s mother.

She claims to be clean, but no one is really sure whether to believe her or not. She lives with one of Perry’s younger brothers.

“She’s 53, but she’s 21 in her head,” said Jermey Perry, Londaryl’s youngest brother who is 25 now.

“She doesn’t like talking about (the past). She knows she did wrong.”

Londaryl describes his relationship with his mother as “cordial.”

“We have conversations,” he said. “We speak, but it’s just different (than a normal mother-son relationship).

“If she’s not on drugs, what did she do to get off them? I don’t know. Because the whole time I was raising my brothers, she was still on them.

“I don’t know what her motivation was or is to get off drugs. … It’s fortunate that she’s still alive because of how long she was on drugs.”

But still, Perry said there is no bitterness about how he was treated as a child. He still wants his family to be close, and that’s why he tries to get everyone together on holidays.

“We try to get our family together because our family is not close-knit,” Perry said. “We try to have those times where we come together and try to enjoy each other.”

Northeast girls coach Londaryl Perry went to Iraq twice. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

This is Part 4 in a five-part blog series, continuing the life story of Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry, The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Coach of the Year.

Perry was profiledled in Tuesday’s newspaper, but his life story is too fascinating to be held to one story. This blog post will focus on Perry’s military career. Here is the full blog schedule:

Tuesday: Perry’s basketball career

Wednesday: More on Perry’s mother and two brothers

Thursday: Perry’s first coaching job

Friday: Perry’s military career

Saturday: The state of Perry’s family today

****************************************************

At age 28, Londaryl Perry joined the Army.

Perry had been an assistant coach at Putnam City West since he graduated from Central Oklahoma, but the student loan debt he was carrying became too much.

He was sent to Iraq in October 2003 — seven months after the war there began.

Perry was stationed at the Baghdad International Airport and worked with secure, encrypted telecommunications.

“We were getting bombed every. Single. Night,” Perry said of his time at the airport. “It became like clockwork; we’d get bombed somewhere around midnight, and then again between 5 and 6 in the morning.”

Fortunately, Perry didn’t lose any friends in Iraq.

After his tour in Iraq was completed, he stayed in the Army until 2007. Much of his time was spent playing for a military basketball team.

His last day in the Army was President’s Day in 2007. Almost immediately after that, he became a private military contractor, and returned to Iraq about seven months later.

“It was very different, being a civilian contractor vs. being a soldier,” Perry said. “Both experiences were very rewarding.”

As a contractor, Perry was responsible for putting Electronic countermeasures (ECMs) on vehicles, which send out radio pules and jam radio signals to stop insurgent’s bombs.

He said his job as a civilian contractor was “a little more rewarding,” because he knows he saved the lives of American military personnel. He worked more with the Marines and the Navy during his second trip to Iraq.

“We had a lot of instances where it was proven to have worked,” Perry said of the ECMs.

He spent a little over a year in Iraq the second time before he returned home to both reunite with his family and get back into coaching, which he missed.

Large East
Taylor Cooper, Shawnee
U’Knique Gaines, Tulsa East Central
Jodi Glover, Fort Gibson
Devaughn Gray, Tulsa Washington
Lashanda Green McAlester
Kelsee Grovey, Shawnee
Madison Mercado, Sapulpa
Lanesha Middleton, Stillwater
Caitlyn Spurgeon, Vinita
Miranda Taylor, Claremore
Coaches: Carl Treat, Stillwater; Matt Sweeney, Oologah

Large West
Kylie Boggess, Piedmont
Ashley Clark, Midwest City
Alie Decker, Edmond Memorial
Daisha Gonzaque, Edmond Santa Fe
Rasheeda Kabba, Westmoore
Toni Smith, Del City
Kati Sullivan, Anadarko
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe
Antoinet Webster, Western Heights
Te’era Williams, Douglass
Coaches: Jeff Mahoney, Elgin; Dandy Peeler, Edmond Memorial

Small East
Courtney Backward, Salina
Kelsey Barnwell, Kansas
Megan Brown, Howe
Hayley Bryan, Copan
Courtney Cowan, Kansas
Pete Douglas, Oktaha
Charitee Evans, Red Oak
Shanna Harrison, Adair
Kenzie Solberg, Chandler
Brooke Watkins, Prague
Coaches: Brandon Lindly, Wright City; Mike Buntin, Verdigris

Small West
Jamie Brown, Chattanooga
Lexie Brown, Hammon
Casi Cornell, Thomas
Kori Fast, Fairview
Jordan Garner, Amber-Pocasset
Bailey McBride, Chattanooga
Lacey Paulk, Washington
Katelyn Richardson, Calumet
Jordynn Van Pelt, Snyder
Shayla Williams, Northeast
Coaches: Cherie Myers, Okarche; Kirk Harris, Marlow

Northeast coach Londaryl Perry's first coaching job was at Putnam City West under Mike Nunley. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

This is Part 3 in a five-part blog series, continuing the life story of Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry, The Oklahoman’s Little All-City Coach of the Year.

Perry was profiled in Tuesday’s newspaper, but his life story is too fascinating to be held to one story. This blog post will focus on his first coaching job, when he was an assistant boys coach at Putnam City West under Mike Nunley. Here is the full blog schedule:

Tuesday: Perry’s basketball career

Wednesday: More on Perry’s mother and two brothers

Thursday: Perry’s first coaching job

Friday: Perry’s military career

Saturday: The state of Perry’s family today

****************************************************

At age 24, Londaryl Perry got his first coaching job.

He became a boys assistant coach under Mike Nunley at his alma mater, Putnam City West.

Nunley became another important friend and mentor for Perry.

“When I first spoke with Mike, I just had a feeling that this man is somebody special,” Perry said.

For his part, Nunley knew pretty quick that Perry was a natural coach.

“What he had was a passion for teaching kids the game of basketball,” said Nunley, now the athletic director for Edmond Public Schools.

Nunley remembers that kids were drawn to Perry, and just generally wanted to be around him. Perry still has that appeal to kids today at Northeast, where he regularly gets hugs as he walks through the school halls.

But what really impressed Nunley was Perry’s attitude.

“Early on, we had a parent meeting,” Nunley said. “Someone was unhappy.”

Nunley remembers Perry looking at him and putting his hand out, palm side up.

“Coach Nunley, most people are looking for a handout,” Perry told him before twisting his hand.

“I’m looking for a handshake.”

That outlook was especially impressive considering Perry’s difficult background.

“He had every right to not be a positive member of society,” Nunley said. “There was nothing. But he never used it as a crutch or an excuse.”

Perry said Nunley taught him patience, and also gave him the opportunity to learn how to be a coach.

“Sometimes, he would just walk out of practice and let me take over,” Perry said. “He would put me there to take control and get the feeling of being a coach.”

Nunley remains a mentor for Perry today. Early in this — his first — season with the Northeast girls, he called Nunley when he had trouble getting through to his team.

The girls weren’t responding to Perry’s aggressive approach; Nunley said Perry was so good at basketball, that he sometimes struggled to communicate with those who weren’t as talented.

“The game was so easy to him,” Nunley said. “He was Russell Westbrook before Russell Westbrook.”

But he also had to learn that girls sometimes need a different sort of leadership.

“I told him he needed to treat all of those girls as if they were his daughters,” Nunley said.

Once he started looking at it from that perspective, things improved.

“I can not talk to Mike for several months, and when I do it’s a great conversation,” Perry said. “He’s a great man and mentor.”

Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

This is Part 2 of five-part blog series, continuing the life story of Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry, who I featured in Tuesday’s newspaper.

Today, I’ll focus more on Perry’s relationship with his mother and two brothers. Here is the full blog schedule:

Tuesday: Perry’s basketball career

Wednesday: More on Perry’s mother and two brothers

Thursday: Perry’s first coaching job

Friday: Perry’s military career

Saturday: The state of Perry’s family today

****************************************************

At age 13, Londaryl Perry almost decided life was too much.

“Who gives a damn about me?” Perry thought as he briefly considered suicide.

“Who cares if I live or die?”
He watched his uncle die with his own eyes after a drug overdose. His father died after overdosing on heroin.

But the continuing nightmare was the home life with his mother, who regularly called him a “bastard” and “ugly.”

Yes, Londaryl Perry’s mother wasn’t just dismissive and unattentive. She displayed a genuine disdain for her oldest son.

Londaryl’s mother has claimed for years that she was raped as a 16-year old, which is how she became pregnant with him.

“She says she wasn’t sexually active (when he was conceived),” Londaryl said. “My mother has never changed that story after all these years, that he raped her.”

Because he shares some physical features with his father, Londaryl believes much of the anger his mother showered him with is because of the alleged rape.

“I feel like I was a reminder of him, and all that hatred was taken out on me,” Londaryl said. “To know you’re born out of that, and to be treated like that …

“I was like, ‘What do I do?’”

Even though his mother’s addiction resulted in her often neglecting his two younger brothers, they never got the insults that Londaryl did.

“For both of my little brothers, it was different,” Londaryl said. “She cherished them, and she resented me.”

Perry’s wife Shana, who he’s known since he was in the eighth grade and dated throughout high school, remembers coming home with Perry after a game one night.

There was a house full of addicts, getting high with Londaryl’s mother.

He kicked all of his mother’s friends out of the house, and the two began arguing.

Perry’s mother picked up his basketball, clutched it between her hands and said she was so upset that, “I wish I had a rock this big that I could smoke.”

“You think of home as being a safe place, and it wasn’t for him,” Shana Perry said.

Still, he made sure to come home every day to look after his brothers. After a two-year career at Seminole State junior college, he walked on to Central Oklahoma’s basketball team. A short while later, he decided he’d had enough of his mother’s treatment of his brothers.

No food in the house, a lack of clothing. It had to stop. Shana, now principal at Del Crest Middle School, and Londaryl had just gotten married and were both in college to become teachers.

Londaryl and Shana, now the principal at Del Crest Middle School in Del City, were both in school to become educators.

“The conversation we had was about how we are both wanting to be educators so we can make a difference in children’s lives,” said Shana Perry. “Here are his brothers that need someone to make a difference for them right now.”

The difference they made was substantial. Clifford, then 13-years old, and Jermey, then 10, suddenly lived with adults who cared about them. Who asked questions about what they were up to, and made sure they were fed and clothed.

“As kids, we would just leave for seven or eight hours at a time,” said Jermey Perry, now 25-years old. “She was more worried about her friends than us.”

Both of Londaryl’s brothers are now married with careers and children.

Jermey Perry admits he’d “probably be in jail” without Londaryl and Shana taking custody.

After Londaryl Perry graduated from UCO in 1998, he took a job as an assistant coach at Putnam City West under Mike Nunley, who is now the athletic director for Edmond Public Schools.

Nunley thinks Londaryl Perry did more for Clifford and Jermey than keep them out of jail.

“He didn’t save them from a life of crime,” Nunley said, “He saved them from death.”

Nunley remembers things being very difficult for Londaryl as he tried to be both a parent and a brother to the two kids.

“It was super challenging,” Nunley said. “One of his brothers played for us, and that was really hard on Londaryl. He had huge expectations for him; he wanted his brother to experience the success that he did.

“He wore every single hat. He was his big brother, his coach and his father figure.”

Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry during the Class 2A state tournament. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN

I wrote a story for Tuesday’s newspaper about Northeast girls basketball coach Londaryl Perry, who was raised in a home with a drug-addicted mother and his two younger brothers. When Perry was 21-years old, he took his mother to court and was given custody of his two brothers. Both of them now have careers, wives and children.

Perry’s childhood was extremely difficult, and his life story goes well beyond what was in Tuesday’s newspaper article. I decided to continue Londaryl Perry’s story in a five-part blog series. I’ll release a new blog each day focusing on a different aspect of Perry’s fascinating, often chilling, life story.

Today, I’ll write about his basketball career and how hoops, in many ways, saved his life. Here is the list of the blogs I’ll release each day:

Tuesday: Perry’s basketball career

Wednesday: More on Perry’s mother and two brothers

Thursday: Perry’s first coaching job

Friday: Perry’s military career

Saturday: The state of Perry’s family today

****************************************************

At age 8, Londaryl Perry was introduced to basketball.

His family bounced around Oklahoma City from apartment to apartment, and in the summer before his third-grade year, he was playing with some kids at a park.

One other boy asked Londaryl to play on his summer league team, the Colts.

“We would just go out there and play, and I just kept playing,” Londaryl said.

He had natural talent and loved the game, but basketball was also a welcome distraction from a miserable home life with a mother who not only ignored her oldest son, but showed genuine disdain toward him.

She made fun of him in front of her friends, mocking the clothes he wore and calling him awful names.

The one family member Londaryl remembers really showing him affection and love was his uncle Jerome, who also lived in Oklahoma City and now lives in Denton, Texas.

“I remember him coming to me one day, telling me how he didn’t think his mom loved him because she was doing drugs and she was never there for him,” Jerome Perry said.

“Like a lot of little kids, he always wanted to make his mom proud. But she never took out time for him.”

She didn’t even take out time to watch him play basketball. In a hoops career that lasted through four years of college, Londaryl’s mother saw him play exactly twice, and she had to be dragged there both times by other parents.

“Even when he was a little boy, he was a great basketball player,” Jerome Perry said.

“I used to always try to tell his mom, ‘You need to go see him; your son is great out there,’ but she was too busy worrying about getting high and doing drugs.”

Perry didn’t realize a college basketball career was possible until he was 16 and a junior at Putnam City West.

One day, PC West coach Dick Balenseifen walked down the hall with Perry and handed him a letter from a junior college in Kansas.

“What is this for?” Perry asked his coach.

“This is the middle of my junior year, and I had no idea I could go to college and play basketball,” Perry said. “I never even thought I could.”

Through that point in high school, Perry’s grades were bad. He was never ineligible during basketball season, but made C’s, D’s and F’s otherwise.

“I was ignorant to everything,” Perry said. “My environment that I grew up in was totally different than those other kids around me.”

From that point on, though, Perry’s grades improved dramatically while he continued to shine on the hardwood.

Perry played AAU ball between his junior and senior year. His team, the Oklahoma Trotters, went to AAU nationals at Wake Forest and did well, making it to the top 10.

He was playing in the same tournament as guys like Allen Iverson, Joe Smith, Jeff Capel and Jerry Stackhouse.

After one game, Perry was surrounded at his locker by college recruiters, who began asking him questions. But when they asked about his grades, Perry became defensive and told them to leave him alone.

“I told them they were wasting their time, because I don’t have the grades to go to college,” Perry said. “I had this high moment, being surrounded like that, and then I hit a low.”

As a senior, Perry averaged 20.5 points per game and earned a spot on The Oklahoman’s Big All-City team. But still, his early grade issues likely cost him an opportunity to play Division I basketball.

He went to Seminole State College, where he played for two seasons.

Between his freshman and sophomore seasons, he came home to Oklahoma City and worked every day at a tree service.

He would work from early in the morning until 5 p.m. each day, and then take college courses in the evenings.

“By doing that, I had no basketball in the summer and I gained weight,” Perry said. “Because of that, a lot of my options went away.”

Perry remembers one Division I coach coming to Seminole and saying that, because he had gained weight, it didn’t look like he cared about basketball.

According to Perry, word spread from that point and his options for big-time hoops after junior college became very limited.

So he walked on at Central Oklahoma, where he eventually earned a scholarship. He graduated from UCO in 1998.

“When I look back on it, it was a blessing,” Perry said, because he was able to take custody of his brothers and help raise them.

A few years later, when he was in the Army, Perry joined a military basketball team. He got to travel all over Europe playing basketball. In 2006 his team, the Wiesbaden Eagles, won the Army-Europe community-level basketball tournament. Here is a Stars and Stripes story on the championship game victory, during which Perry scored 31 points. There is also a photo of him playing with the article.

****************************************************

Finally, when I Googled “Londaryl Perry,” I came across this highlight video on YouTube that his son posted. The video shows highlights of Perry playing basketball in high school and college, so enjoy.

Centennial boys basketball coach Scott Raper danced with the school mascot, among other things, during the team's Class 3A boys basketball state championship celebration on Friday.

To celebrate their repeat as Class 3A boys basketball champions, the Centennial players didn’t want to simply repeat the embarrassment of coach Scott Raper that they enjoyed last year.

They wanted to surpass it.

So rather than shaving their coach’s head, like they did to celebrate last year’s state title, they made him wear a dress — while they shaved his head.

“This is what the kids asked for,” said Raper, who has been Centennial’s head coach since the school opened in 2007. “They did what we asked for, so I wanted to do this for them.”

The Bison were highly ranked all season, but lost during the regional playoffs, which sparked their title run. Raper said it was important for the team to forget about what it accomplished last season and focus on the task ahead.

“We wore our championship rings for about the first four games of the season,” Raper said. “And then I said, ‘That’s it. I don’t want to see another ring. Last year is over with.’”

If the Bison pull off the three-peat next season, what will Raper have to do then?

“I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me,” Raper said with a grin, adding that he would donate $250 to the school’s food bank if the team wins a third title.

NOTE: Video of the event will be posted the blog soon as well.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Former Millwood football coach Don Willis has been selected as Centennial's next head coach.

Don Willis is returning to Oklahoma City after eight years in Texas.

The former Millwood coach has been chosen as Centennial’s new head coach. He was at Millwood for 22 years, including nine as the head coach, leading the Falcons to three consecutive Class 2A titles from 2000-02.

He won at least seven games in each of his nine seasons, compiling a 91-27 record overall. He left in 2004 to take a job in Texas.

Willis replaces Mark Ryan, who moved on after a difficult battle with health issues last season.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass’ Stephen Clark’s game morphed this season when he was asked to take on more of the scoring load instead of distributing the ball as much.
Clark’s game flourished, helping the Trojans to a third consecutive Class 4A title.
Thursday, Clark was honored with the Gatorade Oklahoma Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
The 5-foot-10 junior guard averaged 29 points 13 assists and five rebounds per game.
He scored 40 points in Douglass’ championship-game win over Anadarko.
Clark is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year, which will be announced later this month.
The award also takes into consideration off-the-court activities. Clark mas maintained a 3.88 GPA and has volunteered for multiple groups as well.
Clark is the first junior to win the award in Oklahoma since Putnam City’s Xavier Henry did in the 2007-08 season. Henry followed it up with a second award as a senior.
Other recent state award winner include Bridge Creek’s Ryan Spangler, Putnam West’s Tyler Neal and Oklahoma Christian School’s Blake Griffin.

Clark will be playing for a US junior team that will compete in Mannheim, Germany, from April 3-14 in an event with teams from 15 other countries, including Argentina, Australia, China, Serbia and Spain.

Because it is not directly tied to the Olympic team or an Olympic-sanctioned event, the families must pay travel costs due to NCAA recruiting rules.

The fundraiser service will be held at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Voice of Praise Baptist Church at 2200 Culbertson Dr., in Oklahoma City. The church’s pastor, Rev. Tony F. Wise, will be joined by guest speaker Rev. Teron V. Gaddis, a pastor and teacher at Greater Bethel Baptist Church.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Caitlyn Spurgeon, left, puts up a shot over Anadarko's Lakota Beatty in the first round of last year's Class 4A state tournament. Vinita has beaten Anadarko out of the state tourney in four straight seasons. PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN

Yesterday, I posted my large-school girls’ basketball power poll. Today, I present my poll for Classes 4A, 3A and 2A.

This one was obviously much harder to narrow down to 10 teams because of the added class.

I try to take the coaches’ rankings, strength of schedule and my own judgment to determine my poll. Much of this poll, you’ll find, is quite different from the coaches’ rankings. I try my best to explain why I ranked the teams the way I did.

As always, please leave comments or shoot me an e-mail with your thoughts.

1. Anadarko (4A, 21-1)
The Warriors’ only loss came to 5A No. 1 Shawnee. Lakota Beatty will be one of the top recruits in the state as a senior next season, and she’s been fantastic as a junior. Anadarko has been beaten out of the state tournament in the first round by Vinita (ranked fourth in this poll) in four straight seasons.
Record vs. this poll: 2-0

2. Fort Gibson (4A, 22-1)
The defending 4A state champions will enter the playoffs as a strong contender to return to state and bring home the gold ball. The Tigers’ only loss was to 5A No. 2 Tulsa East Central.
Record vs. this poll: 1-0

3. Northeast Academy (2A, 19-2)
Northeast is ranked No. 5 in the 2A coaches’ poll, and I can’t understand that for the life of me. A seven-point loss to 6A No. 2 Midwest City and a close loss to Holland Hall in the Stroud Tournament are the team’s only two setbacks over the course of a brutal schedule. Northeast’s resume includes a win over 5A No. 4 Carl Albert.
Record vs. this poll: 1-0

4. Vinita (4A, 20-3)
Hornets have won 12 straight since losing to Tulsa Washington and Jenks in a tournament over the holiday break. Senior Caitlyn Spurgeon, an Arkansas Tech signee, is one of the state’s top scorers.
Record vs. this poll: 0-0

5. Snyder (2A, 18-2)
The defending 2A champs’ two losses are both to No. 1 teams — 4A No. 1 Anadarko and A No. 1 Chattanooga. However, Snyder has beaten Chattanooga twice this year.
Record vs. this poll: 0-1

6. Kansas (3A, 19-2)
Only losses are to Fort Gibson and Class 6A Jenks, and both came during the Tournament of Champions in late December. The Comets have played a tough schedule.
Record vs. this poll: 0-1

7. Prague (3A, 21-1)
Red Devils’ only loss came to Jenks in the Tournament of Champions. Schedule includes impressive wins over Skiatook, Chandler and Perkins-Tryon.
Record vs. this poll: 0-0

8. Sulphur (3A, 21-1)
Only loss came to Anadarko, and wins over Mount St. Mary and Caddo are impressive. The Bulldogs haven’t played too tough a schedule on the whole, though.
Record vs. this poll: 0-1

9. Millwood (3A, 17-5)
Arnelia Spears’ team has played a tough schedule that includes losses to Carl Albert, Northeast, Bishop McGuinness and Dallas Skyline. Wins over Piedmont and Mustang give the Falcons credibility, plus, Millwood suffered through injuries early in the season.
Record vs. this poll: 0-1

10. Oktaha (2A, 25-0)
Oktaha and Amber-Pocasset are both unbeaten and ranked second and third, respectively, in Class 2A by the coaches behind Snyder. I give the slight edge to Oktaha right now, but neither school has played a tough schedule.
Record vs. this poll: 0-0

Douglass point guard Stephen Clark received a scholarship offer from Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger on Monday.

Add Oklahoma to the list of college basketball programs seeking the services of Douglass point guard Stephen Clark.

Clark was invited to the Sooners’ game against Missouri on Monday night, and head coach Lon Kruger offered the 5-foot-10 junior a scholarship, as first reported by ESPN.

“Coach Kruger told us he wanted Stephen as a Sooner,” said Dorshell Clark, Stephen’s mother. “So maybe we can begin building a relationship with him and the other coaches.”

Oklahoma joins more than a dozen other programs pursuing Clark, along with the likes of Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Connecticut, Missouri, Memphis and Marquette.

Clark is the third in-state player the Sooners have offered a scholarship, along with Edmond Memorial point guard Jordan Woodard and Tulsa Washington shooting guard Juwan Parker.

If you’re looking for some extra reading on Clark, here’s a quick look at his 65-point game in January.

Here’s a story from December about Clark’s transition to point guard.

And here’s Monday’s piece on Clark and the rest of the state’s star-studded 2013 recruiting class.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass point guard Stephen Clark has been selected to compete for the Junior Olympic team in Germany later this year. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

A good season keeps getting better for Douglass junior Stephen Clark.

The Trojans’ point guard has been shooting the lights out virtually every time he steps on the floor, college scholarship offers are rolling in, and now, he has been selected to play for the USA junior team that will compete in Germany later this year.

The team will compete in Mannheim, Germany, from April 3-14 in the Albert Schweitzer Tournament, an event with teams from 15 other countries, including Argentina, Australia, China, Serbia and Spain.

Because of NCAA recruiting rules, the players must pay the cost of the flight to and from Germany on their own.

Recruiting has remained steady for Clark as well. Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger was up to see him at practice and in a game earlier this week, and according to Clark’s mother, Dorshell, a Baylor coach was in attendance on Friday night when he scored 18 points in a win over Capitol Hill.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

That’s exactly what Millwood’s Mandrell Dean did in junior high.

The footage is here, in a video I recorded with Oklahoman sports editor Mike Sherman, who covered Mandrell as a high school beat writer in the early 1990s.

We talk about Dean, his legacy, and his son, Heritage Hall’s Quintaz Struble.

Millwood legend Mandrell Dean's son, Quintaz Struble, is a senior at Heritage Hall. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE

Five years ago today, an Oklahoma high school legend died.

Mandrell Dean is one of the greatest athletes in Millwood — and Oklahoma high school — history.

His 85 total touchdowns — including a stunning 28 on kick returns — had college football programs flocking to eastern Oklahoma City to recruit him.

He committed to Oklahoma in January 1993, but never signed with the Sooners because of academic issues.

After touring the country playing for semipro and arena teams, Dean returned home, became involved with the wrong people and was shot and killed while allegedly committing a home invasion.

His son, Quintaz Struble, is a senior at Heritage Hall and is on the verge of a college football career his father didn’t have.

This story was originally supposed to run two weeks ago, but we held it to gather more information and plan for a big presentation. I posted a blog about it then, but took it down when we decided to hold off on the story. I apologize for jumping the gun back then, but I think you’ll see this weekend that it was worth the wait.

Heritage Hall senior Quintaz Struble's father is Millwood legend Mandrell Dean. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN

Pick up a copy of The Oklahoman on Sunday to read the inspiring story of a young man with some of his father’s talent, but few of his personal burdens, and the mother who sacrificed everything to make him who he is today.

Also Sunday, on NewsOK.com, we’ll have lots of photographs, a video interview with Quintaz Struble about his dad and video highlights of Mandrell Dean.

I’ve been working on this story since October, and I’m so excited for you all to read the final product.

Putnam City's Desmond Tilly verbally committed to play football at Langston next season.

I was standing on the sideline in the final minutes of Putnam City’s preseason scrimmage against Southmoore when PC running back/linebacker Desmond Tilly tore his ACL.

Saw him writhing in pain on the field. Saw the look on his face when they helped him off.

It was a crushing blow. In one quick moment, Tilly went from a kid who appeared to be on the verge of a breakout year to a spectator. That moment, and a similar one involving Northwest Classen’s Terry Arnold, inspired the story I wrote about the two injured seniors in November.

On Saturday, Tilly verbally committed to play football at Langston next year, a much-deserved opportunity for a hard-working kid.

Langston sees Tilly as a safety/outside linebacker hybrid, which seems like a perfect fit for the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder.

Earlier in the week, PC running back Casey Curtis committed to NEO, and other Pirates like Elie Rushing could be getting some college opportunities as well.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

The 24 boys and girls selected to participate in the All-American Game will be announced at 4 p.m. Feb. 9 on ESPNU. This year’s games will be held March 28 in Chicago, with the girls game tipping off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys at 8:30.

Only Texas and Iowa had more nominations on the girls side than Oklahoma’s 26.

Boys
Nino Jackson, Ardmore
Terrell Savala, Edmond Memorial
Austin Thrash, Cheyenne
James Woodard, Edmond Memorial

Girls
Kate Andrews, McGuinness
Kelsey Barnwell, Kansas
Ashley Clark, Midwest City
Taylor Cooper, Shawnee
Courtney Cowan, Kansas
Alie Decker, Edmond Memorial
Quira Demery, Millwood
I’Knique Gaines, Tulsa East Central
Mariah Gilliam, Tulsa Washington
Daisha Gonzaque, Edmond Santa Fe
LaShanda Green, McAlester
Kelsey Grovey, Shawnee
Elyse Hight, McGuinness
Sydney Hill, Edmond Memorial
Shelley Knight, Wayne
Deena Manning, Wayne
Madison Mercado, Sapulpa
LaNesha Middleton, Stillwater
Bria Pitts, Tulsa East Central
Caitlyn Ramirez, Shawnee
Toni Smith, Del City
Caitlyn Spurgeon, Vinita
Jordynn VanPelt, Snyder
Courtney Walker, Edmond Santa Fe
Antoinet Webster, Western Heights
Adriana White, Midwest City

Defense
DL: Justin Wilson, Luther
DL: Aaron Johnson, Morris
DL: Blake Gordon, Stroud
LB: Chris Humphrey, Jones
LB: Marc Robinson, Millwood
LB: Max Simmons, Lincoln Christian
LB: Taylor Bilyeu, Jones
DB: Orlando Pina, Hennessey
DB: Hunter Eubank, Lindsay
DB: Justin Walton, Wyandotte
DB: Brandon Long, Coalgate
P: Nolan Fanning, Coalgate

Carl Albert's Gioya Carter shoots over Harrah's Sydney Hessman during the Titans' win Tuesday. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

Bishop McGuinness was dealt a tough blow Monday in practice.

Senior Elyse Hight, the Irish’s top scorer and rebounder, suffered a hip injury that will keep her sidelined for the indefinite future.

The defending state champion Irish, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A, won its fifth straight game 43-36 over Stillwater on Tuesday.

Senior Kate Andrews, who led McGuinness with 16 points, said the team played for Hight.

“I think anytime you’re challenged with adversity, you have to come out and show you can play with just as much passion,” Andrews said. “We played in honor of her tonight. We really used this challenge to us to pick each other up and grow together.”

Andrews said replacing Hight is much more than making up for her points and rebounds.

“So many people just see the tons of boards and tons of points she puts up, but it was the little things,” Andrews said. “The blocks, steals, energy and leadership were missed.

“But where we lacked with her absence, everyone else really picked it up.”

Junior LaNesha Middleton led Stillwater with 17 points.

Jason’s take: I can’t emphasize enough how important it was for Bishop McGuinness to get this win in its first game without Elyse Hight. The Irish had just gotten a lot of their early-season kinks worked out, and losing a player of her caliber might have caused some teams to crumble. But the Irish got going quickly, shooting the ball well on its way to an 18-point first quarter and, ultimately, a fifth straight win. With Hight out for the foreseeable future,  it’s encouraging for Irish fans to see the team performing well and beating a solid Stillwater team without her.

CARL ALBERT WINS AT HARRAH

Junior Gioya Carter scored 16 points and Class 5A No. 4 Carl Albert won at Harrah 49-35 on Tuesday.

The Titans (7-3) jumped out to a 22-8 lead after the first quarter and led 28-16 at halftime.

Junior Bailey Mack led Harrah (6-5) with 15 points. It was Harrah’s third straight loss.

Carl Albert plays next at Chickasha on Friday, while Harrah travels to Noble the same day.

Jason’s take: It was important for Carl Albert to win this one on the road after losing two of three games in the Westmoore tournament last weekend. For Harrah, it’s a third straight loss after a three-game winning streak. They should pick up a win over Noble, but then Class 5A No. 1 Shawnee looms on Jan. 17.

MASSEY SCORES 33 AS CHRISTIAN HERITAGE TOPS JONES

Junior Maclayn Massey scored 33 points as Christian Heritage held off Jones to win 66-65 at home on Tuesday.

Christian Heritage took a big lead after outscoring Jones 25-11 in the second quarter. But the Longhorns rallied, scoring 40 second-half points, including 24 in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Teddi Homan led the Longhorns with 22 points.

Jason’s take: An impressive performance by Massey, who was the Crusaders’ only returning starter from last year. Maybe the young Christian Heritage team is starting to gain some momentum with experience, and a win like this can only help the team going forward.

EDWARDS LEADS NORTHEAST PAST MILLWOOD

A run that started late in the third quarter gave Northeast enough cushion to hold off host Millwood 53-41.

Northeast’s T’ona Edwards sparked the run, scoring seven of her game-high 20 points in the third as the Vikings stretched a six-point advantage into a comfortable 20-point lead early in the fourth.

“(On Monday), we had practice without a basketball,” first-year Northeast coach Londaryl Perry said. “We had to have a reminder of who was in charge. I think it really brought us back together as a team instead of a bunch of individuals. I think that showed in how we played tonight.”

Shayla Williams scored 14 points and LaNesha Williams added 10 for Northeast. Millwood was led by Quira Demery with 14 points.

Jason’s take: Big thanks to Scott Wright for coverage of this game. Northeast got back on the right track after losing to Holland Hall in the finals of the Stroud Tournament. The Vikings are looking like they could be an awfully special team; their only other loss this year was a seven-point setback to Class 6A power Midwest City. Millwood lost its second straight after falling in the SNU/Bethany Classic finals to Norman North. The Falcons are still playing without junior starting guards Teanna Reid and Daneisha Threatt, who both have been injured all season.

TIP-INS

Senior Courtney Walker, a Texas A&M signee, scored 22 points and Class 6A No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe rolled past Putnam City West 83-30 at home. Santa Fe (12-0) plays at Yukon on Friday. … Class 5A’s top-ranked team, Shawnee, improved to 11-0 with a 55-24 home win over El Reno. Junior Micaela Yu led the Wolves with 18 points, and senior forward Taylor Cooper, an Oral Roberts signee, added 12. … Junior Kaitlyn Peterson scored 18 points and Edmond North (2-7) upset 6A No. 11 Putnam City North 40-37 on Tuesday. It was the Panthers third straight loss. … Senior Kenzie Solberg led Chandler with 28 points as it won 52-47 in overtime at Seminole.

Matt Christiansen and Bishop McGuinness had a fight on their hands with Stillwater Tuesday night.

Tons of good basketball action on Tuesday night… too  much to fit into the roundup for Wednesday’s paper, but I did my best. Here’s a look at some of the games I touched on, along with a few extra thoughts.

Douglass’ Stephen Clark scores 51 on Star Spencer

Douglass point guard Stephen Clark picked up where he left off in Louisiana.

In his first game since scoring 65 points at a tournament in Bossier City, Clark had 51 points in a 114-71 win over Star Spencer on Tuesday night.

Clark, who already has scholarship offers from more than a dozen Division I colleges, didn’t see the floor in the fourth quarter, with Douglass holding a 31-point lead. It wasn’t just a scoring barrage for Clark. The junior finished with 15 assists and eight steals as well.

The Trojans have a busy weekend, visiting Millwood on Friday and hosting Northeast on Saturday, before heading back to Louisiana next week. Douglass will take part in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Prep Basketball Classic in New Orleans Jan. 19-21.

Scott’s take: There is not thesaurus big enough for me to keep coming up with adjectives to describe Clark’s performance this season. If you combine his second half from Bossier and first half from Tuesday, he scored 81 points in four quarters. The kid is for real. We get to watch him for another year-and-a-half, so if you haven’t seen him yet, pick a game and get out there.

McGuinness holds off Stillwater in OT

In a game when Bishop McGuinness struggled from the free throw line, it’s ironic that foul shots are how Tuesday’s 38-33, overtime win over Stillwater was sealed.

Joe Edmonds’ two late free throws in overtime gave the Irish a four-point lead, and Matt Christiansen added another as McGuinness eeked out a close victory over Stillwater (9-2), which continues to surprise given its lack of returning experience.

McGuinness missed nine of its 17 free throw attempts in the game.

“It came back and bit us, but we won,” said Edmonds, who himself missed a late free throw in the fourth quarter.

Christiansen and Edmonds, both seniors and San Francisco signees, scored 15 and 10 points, respectively, for McGuinness.

Junior John Holcomb led Stillwater with 13 points. Holcomb was the Pioneers’ leading returning scorer from last year, averaging just under three points in 2010-11.

“They’re a good team,” said McGuinness coach Tondrell Durham. “They’re a tough team, and we are very fortunate to win this game.”

Scott’s take: Gracias to Jason Kersey for doing the work on this one. McGuinness is a team full of guys who don’t mind doing the dirty work, and that’s a great quality to have. Beating Norman last week was impressive, and taking down Stillwater — one of the hottest teams around right now — was as well.

Stillwater might be the biggest surprise of the season so far. Hardly anyone with significant experience returning, but Michael Davis has them playing at a high level already. Keep an eye on the Pioneers the rest of the way. Jason is working on a VERY interesting story about what is at the heart of their team chemistry. You won’t want to miss it.

Northeast tops Millwood in OT

Northeast showed exactly how to win a game with free throws on Tuesday night.

The Vikings outscored Millwood 8-0 in overtime — all eight points coming at the line — to seal a 50-42 win.

Millwood rallied from an early double-figure deficit to take the lead in the third quarter, but the fourth quarter saw six ties and four lead changes.

Four Northeast players scored from the line in overtime, with senior point guard Gabe Houston making three of four as the Vikings closed out the win. Houston finished with a team-high 16 points and C.J. Jones had 11 as both teams struggled to make field goals.

“This is always a big rivalry game,” first-year Northeast coach Garland Parks said. “One of our goals is to do well in the conference, and Millwood is always tough, so this is a good win for us, especially on a night when we couldn’t put the ball in the basket. It was an ugly game, but we got the win.”

Wayne Jackson led the Falcons with 21 points, but he fouled out in the final minute of regulation.

Scott’s take: Glad I was finally able to catch a Northeast game. Once I saw they were dropping to 2A one season after playing for the 3A title, I knew that the time was right for them to strike. Garland Parks is a solid coach who seems to have a good handle on his new team.

The Vikings won this one without making many jumpers, and without a big contribution from senior Caleb Crayton, who spent much of his night battling inside with Wayne Jackson. Crayton is a very athletic 6-foot-3 swingman who will get a chance to play at a decent college next year. Houston Baptist was on hand to see him play Tuesday, and he has had some interest from some mid-major D-I programs as well.

Jackson was huge for the Falcons, but he fouled out on an interesting call late in regulation. He was whistled for an intentional foul. From my angle on the opposite end of the floor, it appeared the foul was because he got a little too rough during a tie-ball situation. Tough call to make at that situation of the game, especially with how physical the second half had been. Northeast tied the game with the free throws from the intentional foul.

Edmond Santa Fe fights off PC West

Aaron Anderson had a game-high 15 points and Edmond Santa Fe’s stout defense powered a 56-45 win over Putnam City West in a battle of top-10 teams.

The eight-ranked Patriots were led by Deontee Ogles with nine points. Phoenix Bills contributed 11 for fourth-ranked Santa Fe.

Scott’s take: Santa Fe hasn’t always looked pretty, but they have the talent to win big games. When they can get some decent point production, they are going to be tough to beat. The job they did on PC West’s top three scorers — holding each of them to eight or fewer — is impressive.

Trier’s 37 points power Storm

Freshman Allonzo Trier scored 10 of his game-high 37 points in overtime as the OKC Storm defeated Tulsa Central. Trier only had six points in the first half, but exploded to help the Storm rally from a 12-point halftime deficit.

The Storm’s Jacob Hammond, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, made a layup in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime.

Tulsa Central was led by Revey Norton with 18 points.

Scott’s take: According to Barry Lewis of the Tulsa World, Central coach Eli Brown III called Trier the best guard his team has played all year. Based on the freshman’s performance in crunch time, it’s easy to see where that opinion originated. I’m going to be writing in-depth about Trier soon. He’s not your typical freshman, and his life story is going to be a fun one to tell.

Tip-ins

Conner Haydon scored 30 points to lead El Reno to an 83-72 win over Shawnee, which got 31 points from Dejoun Sanders… Heritage Hall’s Tanner Tepe scored 13 in a 50-49 win over Casady… Choctaw picked up a 60-51 win over Yukon behind 27 points from Reggie Wright… Carl Albert junior Carlbe Ervin had a game-high 26 points as the Titans downed Harrah 63-54.

Scott’s take: This should tell you how fun a night it was in high school hoops. These games had to be relegated to the “Tip-ins” section: Dueling 30-point scorers, a one-point Heritage Hall win, and a couple kids scoring in the upper 20s to lead their teams to important victories. It’s only the second week of January. This can only get better.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass PG Stephen Clark scored 65 points on Friday night.

There was some confusion right around the time of our print deadline on Friday night as to exactly how many points Douglass point guard Stephen Clark had scored, but the number was nailed down overnight.

Clark scored 65 points, including a perfect 27-of-27 at the free throw line and an 8-of-14 performance from 3-point range in Douglass’ 106-92 loss to Airline High School of Bossier City, La., in the Bossier Invitational.

“He did it all,” Douglass coach Terry Long said. “He defended, he scored, hit 3s, penetration, dishing the ball. He left everything on the floor.

“He played a key role in just about every possession we scored on. It was a phenomenal show. I took him out at the end, and the entire crowd gave him a standing ovation.”

Clark scored 52 of the 65 points in the second half.

“I wasn’t really thinking about it,” Clark said. “I was just worried about trying to win the game. We had a couple guys get in foul trouble, so I had to be the scorer.

“I just wanted to win, though. That’s all I care about at the end of the day. This was probably good for us, because we can figure out what we need to do to become a better basketball team.”

The loss eliminated the Trojans from the tournament, dropping their record to 4-3 with all three losses coming to out-of-state competition. They will be back in action at Star Spencer on Tuesday.

Long said the performance recalled memories from when he was younger, watching Larry Bird.

“It was one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen,” Long said. “It reminded me of one of those nights watching Larry Bird when he just couldn’t miss. It was phenomenal.”

Clark is only seven games into his junior season. Last week, I witnessed him score 34. Over Thanksgiving, he dropped 42 at a tournament in Texas, and now this. If you’re looking for a show, this might be the one to watch.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

EAST
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks
Andrew Hearon, Metro Christian
Tony Kiefer, McAlester

Running backs
Dakota Biswell, Stroud
Caleb Muncrief, Madill
Cole Scheulen, Catoosa
Willie Zackery, Woodland

Wide receivers
Levi Copelin, Broken Arrow
Michael Fraley, Adair
Ty Miller, Caddo
Victor Williams, Muskogee

Tight ends
Matt Gallagher, Owasso
Zac Veatch, Broken Arrow

Linemen
John Connor, Tulsa Kelley
Jeremy Iron, Pawhuska
Lance Kloker, Owasso
Talon Miles-Satepauhoodle, Hominy
Montana Poorboy, Catoosa
Sam Sabin, Jenks
Chris Wallace, Sperry

Punter/kicker
Tom Carwile, Tulsa Washington

DEFENSE
Linemen
Hunter Hart, Cascia Hall
Orion Jones, Jenks
Gcory Rahmings, Broken Bow
Travis Sandlin, Vian
Max Simmons, Lincoln Christian
Gary Wilson, Sand Springs

Linebackers
Patrick Bartlett, Woodland
Jevonte Cross, Tulsa East Central
Aaron Dolan, Berryhill
Connor Sherwood, Cascia Hall
Blace Walser, Tulsa Union

Defensive backs
Kent Booze, Spiro
Adam Boyd, McAlester
Kevin Peterson, Wagoner
Dillon Proctor, Caddo
Jermy Reynolds, Wewoka
Jesse Vester, Stillwater

Coaches
Mike Mobra, Catoosa; Eddy Scott, Pawhuska; Kevin Harmon, McAlester; Darren Melton, Lincoln Christian.

WEST
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks
Corben Jones, Yukon
Garrett Lorah, Elgin

Running backs
Casey Curtis, Putnam City
James Flanders, Midwest City
Josh Way, Wayne
Sheldon Wilson, Anadarko

Wide receivers
Gage Diffee, Bethany
Javis Flynn, Watonga
Tre Kelley, Edmond Santa Fe
Tylor Seabolt, Jones
Sterling Shepard, Heritage Hall

Linemen
Blake Belcher, Guthrie
Daniel Burton, Putnam North
Brandon Dewitt, Lawton
Devin Dobbins, Millwood
Carrie Farmer, Minco
Adam Kelley, Wynnewood
Cole Parsons, Edmond North

DEFENSE
Linemen
Josh Crouch, Edmond Santa Fe
Patrick Diaz, Lawton
Kyle Factor, Westmoore
Markus Wakefield, Heritage Hall
Braylon Freeman, Lawton MacArthur
Ricky Rodriguez, Clinton

Linebackers
Landry Chappell, Guthrie
Zeke Lewis, Midwest City
Payton Marsh, Thomas
Brandon Nguyen, McGuinness
Wes Satoe, Anadarko
Jas’Sen Stoner, Douglass

Defensive backs
Rashaad Copeland, El Reno
Jared Griffin, Duncan
Rico Hogan, Norman
Aaron Holden, Temple
Aaron McCandless, Shattuck
Ivan Moreno, Hennessey
Michael Thomas, Lawton MacArthur

Coaches
Bob Ward, Thomas; Curtis Lorah, Elgin; Tracy Scott, Blanchard; Jeremy Dombek, Edmond North.

All-District Team
First team
Offense
Quarterback: Dametric Sanders, Millwood
Running backs: Andy Habib, Christian Heritage; Ben McCoy, Luther
Wide receivers: Andrwe Herzer, Jones; Caleb McGehee, Christian Heritage; TreVoyne Willis, Northeast.
Linemen: Terrance Artrip, Luther; Devin Dobbins, Millwood; Jon Knowles, Christian Heritage; Tyler McCully, Jones; Justin Woody, Northeast
All Purpose: Haskell Browning, Luther

Defense
Linemen: Jordan Bell, Jones; Steven Koonce, Jones; Gonzalo Vasquez, Crooked Oak; Bobby Wilkes, Millwood
Linebackers: Devion Battle, Luther; Chris Humphrey, Jones; Marc Robinson, Millwood
Defensive backs: Chris McGrew, Northeast; Malcolm Scales, Millwood; Ryan Southerland, Christian Heritage

Second team
Offense
Quarterback: Michael Thomas, Northeast
Wide receiver: Phillip Norman, Luther
Linemen: Nick Deyoe, Luther; Harvey Hightower, Millwood; Savaughn King, Jones

Defense
Linemen: Theo Coleman, Northeast; Demarcus Long, Northeast
Linebackers: Adam Curtis, Christian Heritage; Court Hendrickson, Christian Heritage; Savon Peevy, Northeast
Defensive backs: Aron Gaines, Northeast; Caleb Gentry, Christian Heritage

“You can tell he’s a good coach from his record,” Bundage said. “Then when I met him, he’s a people person. We bonded real well and that was a plus. I think he’s gonna be good. We’re gonna have a productive season, I can tell.”

Bundage committed to Arizona in the summer and stayed committed after Mike Stoops was let go in October. But he was looking at other options until his trip to Tucson, Ariz., last weekend.

“There were some questions I had, and I got them answered,” said Bundage, a 6-foot-2, 275-pound interior lineman. “The O-line coach (Robert Anae) stayed on the staff, so I’ll still be playing for the same line coach.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

First-team
Offense
Quarterback: Raymond Little, El Reno
Running back: Nathan Blakely, Ada
Running back: Darvonte Winston, Carl Albert
Tight End: Kyle  Kanady, Deer Creek
Wide receiver: Rashad Copeland, El Reno
Wide receiver: Alex Polston, Carl Albert
Offensive lineman: RayShawn Cato, Carl Albert
Offensive lineman: Cooper Davis, Guthrie
Offensive lineman: Steve Dunham, Carl Albert
Offensive lineman: Matt Eppler, Ada
Offensive lineman: Hayden Seifert, Guthrie
Kicker: Easton Ramsey, Carl Albert
Punter: Sam McCann, Ada

Defense
Defensive lineman: Nolan Boyd, Deer Creek
Defensive lineman: Zack Brown, Guthrie
Defensive lineman: Willis Lusk, Carl Albert
Defensive lineman: Micah Tiger, Ada
Linebacker: John Clark, Guthrie
Linebacker: Kevin Jones, Carl Albert
Linebacker: Jermiah Reed, Carl Albert
Linebacker: John Whitlock, Noble
Defensive back: Tyliq Brazille, Southeast
Defensive back: Taylor Hawkins, Carl Albert
Defensive back: Darion Winston, Carl Albert

Second-team
Offense
Running back: Chase Bowker, Ada
Running back: Tyre LeBlanc, Carl Albert
Tight end: Clint Simek, Guthrie
Wide receiver: Hunter Dinkines, Deer Creek
Wide receiver: Hunter Long, Noble
Offensive lineman: Tristan Clark, Western Heights
Offensive lineman: Malachai Galbrath, Guthrie
Offensive lineman: Grant Oliver, Carl Albert
Offensive lineman: Jacob Stein, El Reno
Offensive lineman: Craig Waters, Western Heights
Kicker: Esau Perez, Guthrie
Punter: Antonio Cueto, Southeast

Defense
Defensive lineman: Darren Colquitt, Carl Albert
Defensive lineman: Clint Edgeman, Deer Creek
Defensive lineman: Michael Holder, Southeast
Defensive lineman: Josh Raper, Western Heights
Linebacker: Austin Ferguson, El Reno
Linebacker: Devonte Henderson, Western Heights
Linebacker: Gumaro Murphy, Southeast
Linebacker: Ian Smith, Deer Creek
Defensive back: Trez Jackson, Carl Albert
Defensive back: Harley Dodd, Deer Creek
Defensive back: Donte Rocco, Western Heights

Not much here at the top that needs explaining as the top 4 are pretty clear. Sallisaw was clearly the best team not to make the semifinals. Hilldale pushed Wagoner early in the season although Sallisaw and Clinton beat them comfortably. Glenpool came back from an 0-3 start to finish second in its district and is at No. 7. Harrah, the only first-round loser in the top eight, pushed McGuinness in the first round before falling 14-7. Their other losses came to Glenpool and defending champion Douglass. Woodward upset Douglass in the first round on a wild finish but their resume, with losses to Weatherford and Piedmont made it hard to put the Boomers in the top eight. Douglass looked championship-caliber at times this season but also had inexplicable losses to Cushing and Woodward. So even with wins over Glenpool and Harrah, Douglass is at No. 10.

Coach of the Year: Tony Henry, Millwood
Coach’s Special Recognition: Mark Ryan, Centennial
Player of the Year: Cayman Bundage, Douglass
Defensive Player of the Year: Jas’Sen Stoner, Douglass
Offensive Player of the Year: Dametric Sanders, Millwood
Co-Special Teams Players of the Year: Quincy Rideau, Star Spencer; Juan Campos, Northwest Classen
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Bobby Wilkes, Millwood
Co-Linebackers of the Year: Marc Robinson, Millwood; Gumaro Murphy, Southeast
Defensive Back of the Year: O’Sha Clark, Douglass
Co-Offensive Linemen of the Year: Devin Dobbins, Millwood; Dale Burch, Star Spencer
Offensive Back of the Year: Luis Leyva, Capitol Hill
Receiver of the Year: Kameron Bryant, John Marshall

First Team Defense
Defensive Line: Christian Nicholson, U.S. Grant; Kevin Williams, John Marshall; Codie Nolan, Northwest Classen; Genaro Monter, Southeast; Justin Woody, Northeast
Linebackers: Derrick Ward, Star Spencer; Andrew Bailey, Douglass; Malcolm Scales, Millwood; Francis Taylor, Capitol Hill
Defensive Backs: TyLiq Braziell, Southeast; Brandon Morse, Capitol Hill; Derrick Young, U.S. Grant; Chris Compton, Douglass
Punter: Carlos Morales, U.S. Grant

First Team Offense
Quarterback: Christian Gorham, Northwest Classen; Michael Thomas, Northeast
Running Backs: Cory Hooks, U.S. Grant
Receivers: Trevon Willis, Northeast; Marvin Kerbo, Northwest Classen; Deonte Childs, Douglass
Offensive Line: Diamonte McClellan, Douglass; Charles Hayes, Star Spencer; Jacob Tavarez, U.S. Grant; Harvey Hightower, Millwood; Michael Holder, Southeast; David Johnson, John Marshall
Place Kicker: Antonio Cueto, Southeast

Honorable Mention
Capitol Hill: Maleke Dixon, Jerrad Fomin
Douglass: Davon Barber
Millwood: Marquise Kemp
Northeast: Savon Peevy, Demarkus Long
Northwest Classen: Marcus Ervin
Southeast: Nolan Payne, Michael McAnelly, Dominique Schweitzer, Nicholas Chamberlain
Star Spencer: Quintrae Kendrick
U.S. Grant: Eric Benevue, Javier Tarrazas

All-District
Quarterbacks: Travis Galbreath, Ardmore; Keaton Webb, Durant.
Running backs: Jordan Alesky, Duncan; Dom Nortonen, Altus; Ashton Perry, Ardmore.
Wide receivers: Jacobi Davis, Chickasha; Won Davis, Chickasha; Jace Hammock, Durant; Marvin Kirbo, Northwest; Josiah Reed, Ardmore.
Tight end: Christian Kneisel, Altus.
Offensive linemen: Michael Buben, Duncan; James Gibson, Duncan; Austin House, Altus; Christian Joy, Ardmore; Cameron Sralla, Ardmore; Cole Stamps, Lawton MacArthur.
Defensive linemen: Marcus Johnston, Durant; Evan McGee, Ardmore; Codie Noland; Northwest; Kaynon Sadler, Altus; Dwayne Sanford, Lawton MacArthur; Braxdan Turner, Chickasha.
Linebacker: Tyler Dixon, Ardmore; Austin Payne, Lawton MacArthur; Francis Taylor, Capitol Hill; Andrew Weaver, Durant.
Defensive backs: Jywayne Allen, Ardmore; Jeff Ervin, Duncan; Trey Fish, Ardmore; Tyler Henley, Durant; Daniel McCoy, Duncan; Jacob Warner, Lawton MacArthur.
Punter: Luis Leyva, Capitol Hill.
Kicker: Juan Campos, Northwest.

Player of the Year: Dawson Myers, Cushing
Offensive Player of the Year: Eddie Reynolds, Harrah
Defensive Player of the Year: Cayman Bundage, Douglass
Special Teams Player of the Year: Chris Compton, Douglass
Receiver of the Year: Abraham Luna, Santa Fe South; Eric Delay, Cleveland
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Diamonte McClellan, Douglass; Blaine Atchely, Tecumseh
Quarterback of the Year: Ivan Zavala, Santa Fe South
Offensive Back of the Year: Alton Adkins, Glenpool
Tight End of the Year: Richard Griffin, Harrah
Defensive End of the Year: Brock Hubble, Cushing; Travis Johnson, Harrah
Defensive Tackle of the Year: Josh Smith, Glenpool; Dustin Malloy, Cleveland
Inside Linebacker of the Year: Jas’Sen Stoner, Douglass; Brandon McDonald, Harrah
Outside Linebacker of the Year: Drake Stevens, Glenpool; Kyle Knight, Cushing
Safety of the Year: Phillip Spess, Cleveland; Tanner Shepard, Tecumseh
Cornerback of the Year: Jake Queen, Harrah
Kicker of the Year: Ben Henley, Cleveland
Special Recognition: Blake Murray, Cushing
Coaches of the Year: Barrett Shupe, Cushing; Jerry Braziel, Santa Fe South

All-District by team
Cleveland: Frankie Mackey, Kolton Hansen, Matt Gayle, Josh Casebott
Cushing: Marshal Dilley, Ben Loftis
Douglass: Andrew Bailey, O’Sha Clark, Deonte Childs, Camron Dizer
Glenpool: Zach Parnell, Tyler Harrison, Connor Ferrell, Austin Wills, Matt Lafitte, Matt Meeks, Trent Cleveland, Hunter Green, Tyler Dunn, Taylor Howell, Jordan Bullock, Matt Lena, Cody Marshall
Harrah: Tyler Humphrey, Corey Beder, Houston Ward
Sante Fe South: Daniel Gardado, Abel Hererra, Aaron Johnson
Tecumseh: Jacob Bender, Jackson Ryan

Douglass point guard Stephen Clark averaged 32.5 points per game at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Duncanville, Texas.

Douglass point guard Stephen Clark would have preferred a victory, but he did everything he could to get one at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Duncanville, Texas.

Clark scored 42 points in a 90-80 loss to Dallas-Kimball on Saturday night at an event that included teams from Louisiana, Georgia and North Carolina.

The Trojans went 0-2 on the weekend, falling in a tight game to Tulsa Washington on Friday. Tulsa Washington’s Juwan Parker and Phabian Glasco each scored 22 in the 68-59 win. Clark had a game-high 23.

Team-wise, the weekends went very differently for Clark and Parker (the Hornets won twice), but both nationally known recruits took advantage of the big stage to show their skills. Each player has more than a dozen scholarship offers already, and both were impressive at Hoopfest.

In particular, Clark showed his ability to run his team from the point guard position, which he wasn’t asked to do for the Trojans the last two seasons.

“As he develops his feel for the position, Clark should expand his playmaking and he looks to be on his way to being a viable option at the point for high majors,” wrote Rivals.com basketball recruiting analyst Eric Bossi.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass lineman Cayman Bundage will play in the Offense-Defense All-America Game on Dec. 30 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Douglass lineman Cayman Bundage has accepted an invitation to the Offense-Defense All-America Game, which will be played Dec. 30 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Bundage, an Arizona commit and a four-year starter for the Trojans, has been a key player on four straight playoff teams, including the Class 4A state champions in 2010.

The 6-foot-2, 275-pound Bundage had an offensive line grade of 92 percent this season, adding 98 tackles and eight quarterback sacks in his senior year.

“Bundage has room to add weight and could potentially play on either side of the ball at Arizona, giving them a versatile athlete who I feel has a lot of potential,” said Josh Buchanan, Director of Player Personnel for the Offense-Defense Game. “Arizona should be very excited to have a quality lineman who has been consistent and productive during his career.”

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Douglass junior Stephen Clark and the two-time defending Class 4A state champion Trojans will be in action at the All-City Preview tournament, which begins on Tuesday night.

The All-City Preview, the preseason basketball tournament featuring the Oklahoma City Public Schools and Millwood, begins Tuesday evening at Northwest Classen and Capitol Hill. The tournaments will be concluded on Thursday with championship and third-place games, as well as loser’s bracket competition.

Each site will host seven games on Tuesday, between both boys and girls teams. All 11 schools from the All-City Athletic Conference will participate, including a pair defending champions, the Douglass and Centennial boys teams.

Here is the schedule for Tuesday’s games:
Girls
At Capitol Hill
5 p.m.: Star Spencer vs. Centennial
6 p.m.: Classen SAS vs. Capitol Hill
7 p.m.: Northeast vs. Star/Centennial winner
8 p.m.: Douglass vs. Classen/Capitol Hill winner
At Northwest Classen
5:30 p.m.: US Grant vs. John Marshall
6:30 p.m.: Northwest Classen vs. Southeast
7:30 p.m.: Millwood vs. US Grant/John Marshall winner

Boys
At Northwest Classen
5 p.m.: Southeast vs. US Grant
6 p.m.: Millwood vs. John Marshall
7 p.m.: Northwest Classen vs. Southeast/US Grant winner
8 p.m.: Centennial vs. Millwood/John Marshall winner
At Capitol Hill
5:30 p.m.: Star Spencer vs. Classen SAS
6:30 p.m.: Capitol Hill vs. Northeast
7:30 p.m.: Douglass vs. Star/Classen winner

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Last week:
Ryan: 8-2, 1-0
Jason: 5-5, 1-0
Scott: 4-6, 1-0

Overall:
Ryan: 52-19, 6-1
Jason: 49-22, 5-2
Scott: 46-25, 6-1

Ryan:
Wagoner 21, Catoosa 18
Douglass 20, Harrah 17
Deer Creek-Lamont 26, Timberlake 20
Pryor 20, Coweta 17
Weatherford 21, Tuttle 14
Broken Arrow 40, Norman 14
Lawton 21, Edmond North 20
Sallisaw 21, Hilldale 14
McGuinness 28, Piedmont 21
Putnam City 35, Westmoore 24
Lock of the week: Deer Creek-Lamont over Timberlake. DC-Lamont will finally get pushed but they come out on top in a possible state championship game preview.

Jason
Wagoner 31, Catoosa 21
Douglass 28, Harrah 21
Deer Creek-Lamont 42, Timberlake 30
Coweta 21, Pryor 14
Tuttle 17, Weatherford 10
Broken Arrow 42, Norman 28
Edmond North 24, Lawton 14
Hilldale 24, Sallisaw 20
McGuinness 31, Piedmont 28
Westmoore 27, Putnam City21
Lock of the week: Westmoore over Putnam City. The Pirates have faced one really strong defense all year, Edmond North, and were shut down offensively. Westmoore’s defense has shown itself to be tough all season, and I think they can keep Casey Curtis in check and come away with the win.

Scott
Wagoner 23, Catoosa 20
Douglass 21, Harrah 14
Deer Creek-Lamont 48, Timberlake 33
Pryor 20, Coweta 17
Tuttle 27, Weatherford 21
Broken Arrow 38, Norman 28
Edmond North 24, Lawton 21
Hilldale 28, Sallisaw 27
McGuinness 21, Piedmont 17
Putnam City 30, Westmoore 24
Lock of the Week: Wagoner over Catoosa. This should be one heck of a ballgame, but I think Wagoner has the leadership, the experience and the talent to get back to the title game this year, maybe win it all. Guys like Kevin Peterson and Jeremy Applegate, among others, have been around long enough to help keep the team composed in a big game — and this is a huge one.

Douglass offensive lineman Cayman Bundage remains committed to Arizona in the aftermath of coach Mike Stoops' firing on Monday.

The news about Mike Stoops’ firing as the head football coach at Arizona was a bit of a shock to Cayman Bundage’s family, but the Douglass offensive lineman remains committed to the Wildcats as of now.

“Right now, Cayman is still committed to Arizona,” said his father, Clyde Bundage. “We’ll have to see what goes on, or if the staff stays. You never know what kind of situation you’ll have with a new head coach. We’re looking forward to seeing what the status is.”

Cayman Bundage, 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, committed to Arizona in the summer, and took an unofficial visit to the campus in mid-September. He spoke with Arizona assistant Seth Littrell — Bundage’s primary recruiter — on Monday, prior to the news breaking about Stoops. But Bundage had not been in contact with anyone on the Arizona staff as of Tuesday night.

“Cayman’s commitment is to the University of Arizona,” Clyde Bundage said. “It’s a verbal commitment. But you always have to look at your options.”

Prior to committing to Arizona on June 22, Bundage had offers from Missouri, Arkansas, Tulsa and North Texas. Both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State had been looking at him as well.

– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
Twitter: @ScottWrightOK

Last week
Jason: 8-2, 1-0
Scott: 8-2, 1-0
Ryan: 7-3, 0-1

Overall
Ryan: 37-13, 4-1
Scott: 37-13, 4-1
Jason: 37-13, 3-2

Ryan
Cascia Hall 14, Berryhill 7
Millwood 28, Jones 26
Norman North 28, Putnam North 24
Edmond North 35, Putnam City 34
Tulsa Union 38, Owasso 16
Tulsa East Central 27, Tulsa Central 20
Lincoln Chr. 28, Vian 26
Comanche 26, Washington 20
Elk City 20, McGuinness 17
McAlester 38, Tulsa Kelley 20
Wynnewood 28, Rush Springs 14
Lock of the week: Wynnewood over Rush Springs. As things keep progressing in this district, I’m more and more convinced that the Wynnewood-Wayne matchup will determine the district champion.

Scott
Cascia Hall 21, Berryhill 14
Millwood 38, Jones 34
Putnam City North 24, Norman North 21
Putnam City 52, Edmond North 48
Tulsa Union 31, Owasso 21
Tulsa East Central 27, Tulsa Central 24
Lincoln Christian 35, Vian 31
Comanche 27, Washington 24
Elk City 28, McGuinness 27
McAlester 24, Tulsa Kelley 14
Lock of the Week: Cascia Hall over Berryhill. Cascia looks like a team on a mission, still stinging from last year’s loss to Bethany in the playoffs. I think they move to 6-0 this week.

Jason
Cascia Hall 21, Berryhill 10
Millwood 31, Jones 24
Norman North 23, Putnam North 17
Edmond North 42, Putnam City 35
Tulsa Union 42, Owasso 24
Tulsa East Central 35, Tulsa Central 21
Lincoln Chr. 31, Vian 28
Washington 20, Comanche 17
Bishop McGuinness 23, Elk City 20
McAlester 35, Tulsa Kelley 17
Wynnewood 24, Rush Springs 21
Lock of the week: Norman North over Putnam City North. Both of these proud programs are struggling this season, but I like the Timberwolves because of their running game. Norman North running back Bryan Payne has been good this season, and the Panthers’ run defense has been an Achilles’ heel.

A couple of times a year I throw out my rankings and start fresh, take an overall look at the season and don’t constrain myself with past rankings. This is one of those weeks and while their figures to be other classes that are more drastically affected, there is a bit of that here. The biggest questions in my mind were where to place Edmond Santa Fe (and Lawton) and what to do with Putnam City. I considered dropping Broken Arrow a spot but the Tigers still stand as the only team to really challenge Union this season and I’ll give them their small bump Friday. Edmond Santa Fe goes from just outside to No. 8 after their win at Lawton. The Wolverines drop to No. 10. Owasso stays in at No. 9 but has a tough test this week against Union.

Class 5A
1. Guthrie (2)#5-0
2. Lawton MacArthur (5)#5-0
3. Carl Albert (3)#5-0
4. Tulsa East Central (1)#5-0
5. McAlester (4)#5-0
6. Deer Creek (6)#4-1
7. Tulsa Washington (7)#2-3
8. Tulsa Kelley (8)#3-1
9. Ardmore (9)#2-3
10. Coweta (10)#2-3

There’s no shame in being any one of the top five teams here although there was some definite shaking up as I reevaluated from scratch. Guthrie has won every one of its game by 28 or more points, helping the Bluejays move to the top spot. Tulsa East Central falls to No. 4 after their close call against Coweta. Any of the five teams on top could come out with a gold ball but it was time to make some adjustments there. On the bottom half, it hurts that I can’t include Tulsa Central here but looking over their resumes, I’ve got to leave Ardmore and Coweta in ahead of them. Ardmore has played Carl Albert and McAlester tighter than anyone this season and their other loss was to Lawton MacArthur. Their schedule to start has been tough but they shouldn’t lose the rest of the way. Coweta pushed Tulsa East Central and Tulsa Kelley to the brink and their other loss was a close one to 4A power Wagoner. Tulsa Central gets its chance for a statement this week when it faces East Central.

Class 4A
1. Douglass (1)#4-1
2. Wagoner (2)#5-0
3. Catoosa (3)#5-0
4. Clinton (4)#4-1
5. Harrah (5)#5-0
6. Elk City (7)#5-0
7. McGuinness (8)#3-2
8. Hilldale (10)#4-1
9. Sallisaw (9)#3-2
10. Broken Bow (6)#3-2

There wasn’t much shuffling here, save for Broken Bow and Hilldale. Catoosa and Wagoner are on a collision course toward what should be a very entertaining game Oct. 20. Elk City has been impressive but gets a tough test this week against No. 7 McGuinness. Douglass and Clinton’s losses don’t count against them because of the competition they came against. Hilldale got its statement win at Broken Bow but the Hornets win Week 1 against Pryor is looking better and better and their only loss came to No. 2 Wagoner.

Class 3A
1. Heritage Hall (1)#5-0
2. Anadarko (2)#5-0
3. Cascia Hall (3)#5-0
4. Bethany (4)#4-0
5. Metro Christian (5)#5-0
6. Tuttle (6)#5-0
7. Purcell (7)#5-0
8. Kingfisher (8)#5-0
9. Seminole (9)#5-0
10. Berryhill (10)#5-0

I did the same thing here as in other classes and came up with the same thing I had. I considered swapping Seminole and Berryhill on the bottom end and Kingfisher and Purcell one step above that but didn’t pull the trigger in the end. Berryhill’s win over Glenpool in the first week doesn’t look as strong as it did then (not that it’s not a big win still) and Seminole beat a pretty good Stigler team on the road. Berryhill plays at Cascia Hall this week in what should be one of the week’s best games.

Class 2A
1. Davis (1)#4-1
2. Millwood (2)#4-1
3. Lincoln Christian (3)#5-0
4. Stroud (5)#5-0
5. Jones (4)#5-0
6. Vian (7)#5-0
7. Hennessey (6)#3-2
8. Colcord (8)#5-0
9. Talihina (10)#5-0
10. Frederick (NR)#5-0

Made a mistake last week here dropping Frederick out in the first place. Their win over St. Mary was very similar to Washington’s and Washington has two losses, which pushed Frederick into the rankings. Vian moves up a spot while Hennessey drops while Stroud and Jones switch places. Stroud has still given up just seven points all season and shut out four of its opponents. There are still six undefeated team that remain unranked: Comanche, Talihina, Newkirk, Chelsea, Wyandotte and Adair. All are in districts with ranked teams, though, so they’ll get their chances.

Class A
1. Woodland (1)#4-0
2. Thomas (2)#5-0
3. Wynnewood (3)#5-0
4. Minco (5)#5-0
5. Wayne (7)#4-1
6. Morrison (6)#4-1
7. Mangum (9)#4-1
8. Okeene (10)#3-2
9. Elmore City (8)#4-1
10. Foyil (NR)#3-2

At the top, this class was relatively easy as I was pretty comfortable with the top three. After that, there was some switching around after No. 4 Afton fell to Foyil 33-8. First, I swapped Wayne and Morrison. Wayne’s overall resume is slightly better at this point. Mangum and Okeene move up two spots while Elmore drops one after its loss to Wynnewood. Foyil moves in after an impressive win over Afton, beating out Rush Springs for that final spot despite Rush’s 5-0 record. That was a tough choice but Foyil’s two losses came to a pair of still-undefeated Class 2A teams–Chelsea and Adair.

Class B
1. Caddo (1)#5-0
2. Davenport (2)#5-0
3. Kiefer (5)#4-1
4. Fox (6)#4-1
5. Dewar (7)#3-2
6. Gans (4)#4-1
7. Cherokee (8)#4-1
8. Seiling (9)#4-1
9. Wetumka (10)#4-1
10. Pond Creek-Hunter (NR)#4-1

It was tough to drop Laverne all the way out from No. 3 but looking schedule-by-schedule, it had to be done. Laverne beat Cherokee, 45-8, in Week 2, but fell to Pond Creek-Hunter on Friday night. Pond Creek-Hunter’s only loss came to Seiling, who lost to Cherokee by two on Friday. So Seiling pulls off the rare moving up by dropping a game feat by leapfrogging Laverne. Pond Creek-Hunter has to stay in ahead of Laverne so Laverne falls all the way out but still has Seiling remaining on its schedule. It’s tough to ignore what Welch is doing in B-4 but they’ve beaten just one team that is above .500 to this point. They play Kiefer on Oct. 20.

Class C
1. Deer Creek-Lamont (1)#5-0
2. Timberlake (3)#4-0
3. Temple (4)#5-0
4. Sharon-Mutual (10)#3-2
5. Shattuck (2)#4-1
6. Covington-Douglas (5)#4-1
7. Tipton (6)#4-1
8. Coyle (7)#4-1
9. Forgan (8)#4-1
10. Ryan (9)#3-2

The big change here came due to Sharon-Mutual’s 38-22 win at Shattuck. Sharon-Mutual jumped all the way from No. 10 to No. 4. Its only losses came to Seiling and Timberlake and they remain the only team to score on Timberlake this season (They scored 44 in the loss). Shattuck drops just below Sharon-Mutual while Covington-Douglas, Tipton, Coyle, Forgan and Ryan all drop a spot. Arkoma is the lone undefeated team remaining unranked but Keota is the only over .500 team they’ve beaten.

2. Class A No. 8 Elmore City (4-0) at No. 3 Wynnewood (4-0)
Two of the three undefeated teams in District A-5 go head-to-head.

3. Class C No. 3 Timberlake (3-0) at No. 5 Covington-Douglas (4-0)
A week after squeaking out a win over Tipton on the road, Covington-Douglass gets another big challenge.

4. Class 5A No. 1 Tulsa East Central (4-0) at No. 10 Coweta (2-2)
The Cardinals get another solid test in a rough schedule as the defending runners-up try to solidify their place in 5A-4. Coweta hasn’t won a game by more than six points or lost by more than four.

5. Class 3A No. 9 Seminole (4-0) at Stigler (4-0)
Seminole has scored 41 or more points in all four games thus far while Stigler has topped 42 in three out of four.

6. Class 4A No. 10 Hilldale (3-1) at No. 6 Broken Bow (3-1)
Big win over Poteau last week lifted Hilldale into the rankings while Broken Bow has shut out two opponents last season.

7. Edmond Santa Fe (3-1) at Class 6A No. 6 Lawton (3-1)
Both teams started district play with statement wins and this game will feature two of the best defensive ends in the state in Lawton’s D.J. Ward and Santa Fe’s Michael Onuoha.

8. Class B No. 6 Fox (3-1) at Paoli (4-0)
Fox has shutouts in each of its three wins while Paoli has topped 53 points three times and scored 42 in its other win.

9. Commerce (3-1) at Class 2A No. 8 Colcord (4-0)
Commerce has two shutouts and its only loss came to a Kansas school. Colcord has won games primarily with its offense (41-14 at Salina last week) and with its defense (8-0 vs. Haskell on Sept. 16).

10. Class 4A No. 4 Clinton (3-1) at Piedmont (2-2)
Clinton blew out McGuinness last week at home while Piedmont got a statement win over Elgin.

Other good bets:
Heritage Hall at Tulsa NOAH
Millwood at Luther
Mustang at Edmond North
Woodward at McGuinness
Yukon at Norman North

By Ryan Aber

With Westmoore falling out from No. 8 after its loss to Edmond Santa Fe, there were two logical candidates to take the spot: Edmond Santa Fe, who was ranked before its loss to Midwest City the week before, and Stillwater. I chose the Pioneers based on their recent performances but just barely. Santa Fe gets a tough test next week at Lawton. A good performance there, win or lose, gives the Wolves a chance to move back in.

Class 5A
1. Tulsa East Central (1)#4-0
2. Guthrie (2)#4-0
3. Carl Albert (3)#4-0
4. McAlester (4)#4-0
5. Lawton MacArthur (5)#4-0
6. Deer Creek (6)#3-1
7. Tulsa Washington (7)#1-3
8. Tulsa Kelley (8)#2-1
9. Ardmore (9)#1-3
10. Coweta (10)#3-1

Ardmore and Tulsa Washington still in the rankings at 1-3? Absolutely. I’ve never understood why teams drop in rankings after they lose to a high ranked opponent (in most cases). While Tulsa Washington has plenty to work on, the Hornets are still very talented, especially on the defensive side. They lost to Carl Albert, Abilene, Texas, and Tulsa East Central. They’re going to be right there at the end, regardless of what their record now is. Ardmore is similar. They beat Ada to start the season before running into the murderer’s row of Carl Albert, McAlester and Lawton MacArthur the last few weeks. They shouldn’t lose the rest of the way. Speaking of Lawton Mac, I think next week is the week I totally deconstruct my rankings in this class especially and build from scratch. I think the Highlanders might be the best team in the class right now, although I think all five of the top teams are very good. The team I hate to leave out is Tulsa Central, who is 4-0 going into next week’s game against Grove.

Class 4A
1. Douglass (1)#3-1
2. Wagoner (2)#4-0
3. Catoosa (3)#4-0
4. Clinton (5)#3-1
5. Harrah (6)#4-0
6. Broken Bow (7)#3-1
7. Elk City (8)#4-0
8. McGuinness (4)#2-2
9. Sallisaw (9)#2-2
10. Hilldale (NR)#3-1

McGuinness drops four spots after getting manhandled on the road at Clinton. They might be a better team than that but hard to tell right now as the only varsity team they’ve beaten to this point was Tulsa Kelley, another team I’m not sure what to think of through four weeks. I suspect McGuinness will climb up. Hilldale moves into the rankings after a big win over Poteau gave the Hornets back-to-back blowouts after playing Wagoner pretty tough in Week 2. Piedmont and Cleveland gave me pause in those spots, though. Piedmont because of its offense and Cleveland due to its defense. Cleveland has allowed just 33 points all season. Elgin dropped out after getting thumped by Piedmont

Class 3A
1. Heritage Hall (1)#4-0
2. Anadarko (2)#4-0
3. Cascia Hall (3)#3-0
4. Bethany (4)#4-0
5. Metro Christian (5)#4-0
6. Tuttle (6)#4-0
7. Purcell (7)#4-0
8. Kingfisher (8)#4-0
9. Seminole (10)#4-0
10. Berryhill (NR)#4-0

I’ve been looking to get Berryhill into the rankings for a few weeks but since no team in my top 10 had lost a game through three weeks, I couldn’t do it. Sequoyah Tahlequah finally broke that stretch this week with its loss to Verdigris. Everything else remains the same with Seminole moving up one slot. There are several other undefeated teams in the class right now as well.

Class 2A
1. Davis (1)#3-1
2. Millwood (2)#3-1
3. Lincoln Christian (3)#4-0
4. Jones (4)#4-0
5. Stroud (5)#4-0
6. Hennessey (6)#2-2
7. Vian (7)#4-0
8. Colcord (8)#4-0
9. Washington (9)#3-1
10. Talihina (10)#4-0

Nothing changes here as all of the top 10 teams won last week. Hennessey is ranked at No. 6 because their only losses came close against Jones and to 3A No. 8 Kingfisher.

Class A
1. Woodland (1)#3-0
2. Thomas (2)#4-0
3. Wynnewood (3)#4-0
4. Afton (4)#4-0
5. Minco (5)#4-0
6. Morrison (6)#3-1
7. Wayne (7)#3-1
8. Elmore City (8)#4-0
9. Mangum (9)#3-1
10. Okeene (10)#2-2

Nothing changes here either as all of the top 10 teams won.

Class B
1. Caddo (1)#4-0
2. Davenport (3)#4-0
3. Laverne (4)#4-0
4. Gans (NR)#4-0
5. Kiefer (5)#3-1
6. Fox (6)#3-1
7. Dewar (7)#2-2
8. Cherokee (8)#3-1
9. Seiling (9)#4-0
10. Wetumka (2)#3-1

It’s hard to figure out where to slot Wetumka in here after a previously unranked Gans team beat them 52-22 Friday. I slid Davenport and Laverne up a spot before slotting Gans at No. 4. As I kept going down, comparing schedules, I wound up with Wetumka holding on at No. 10. They might be a bit better than that but of the teams ahead of them, only Cherokee has had a blowout loss (at Laverne). Wetumka isn’t likely to be challenged until the final two weeks of the season when they get zcaddo and Dewar back-to-back.

Class C
1. Deer Creek-Lamont (1)#4-0
2. Shattuck (2)#4-0
3. Timberlake (3)#3-0
4. Temple (5)#4-0
5. Covington-Douglas (6)#4-0
6. Tipton (4)#3-1
7. Coyle (8)#4-0
8. Forgan (7)#2-2
9. Ryan (9)#2-2
10. Sharon-Mutual (NR)#2-2

Covington-Douglas moves up a spot after beating previously fourth-ranked Tipton. Tipton drops a couple of spots to six after the close loss. Coyle continues to move up the rankings to No. 7 but they’ll get a tough test this week with No. 1 Deer Creek-Lamont. Sharon-Mutual moves into the rankings, replacing Thackerville in the final spot.

By Ryan Aber

Millwood's Marc Robinson runs during his team's 27-21 win over Bishop McGuinness on Friday. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN

One of the first things Millwood coach Tony Henry said to me after his team’s incredible 27-21 win over Bishop McGuinness was, “We were your lock of the week, right?”

Yes, coach, you were. And I was wrong. It isn’t the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last.

(Side note: Good to know he reads the blog!)

Henry was good-natured about it, of course, and I’m not at all surprised that he was in a good mood after the win at Pribil Stadium.

The blocked field goal and subsequent return for a touchdown on the last play was unbelievable — one of the best finishes to a football game that I’ve ever seen.

This is the only football game I can think of that I saw in person that had as memorable an ending.

In my view, the Falcons were clearly the better team Friday. They were able to move the ball pretty effectively on McGuinness’ defense — especially in the second half — and the Millwood defense was very impressive against the Irish offense.

Yes, it took a blocked field goal on the last play for the Falcons to win, but if not for a couple of silly mistakes, I think Millwood would have won fairly comfortably.

All three of Bishop McGuinness’ touchdown drives were 10 yards or less, and they came came as a result of bad Millwood turnovers.

The first two were results of bad long snaps on punts. The last one, in the fourth quarter, happened after a Millwood fumble on a bad exchange.

But it felt like every time something bad happened to the Falcons, they answered. After the Irish’s first touchdown in the second quarter, Millwood’s Dametric Sanders returned the kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown to tie the game.

Down 21-14 in the fourth quarter, Sheldon Bulock Millwood went for it on fourth-and-one from near midfield. But after the McGuinness defense stuffed running back, the Irish took over possession with just under five minutes left in the game and appeared to have it under control.

But on the very next play, Irish quarterback Camden Tharp was picked off by Millwood’s Marc Robinson, who returned it all the way to the McGuinness 10 to set up a tying touchdown.

I don’t want to take anything away from Bishop McGuinness. They did play a very good game — especially defensively.

The Irish linebackers — senior Brandon Nguyen and juniors Nick Jeffreys and Danny Krenger — did a remarkable job against an extremely tough Millwood rushing attack. Marc Robinson, Larry Lambeth and Bulock were pounding at the McGuinness defense all night, and the Irish held their ground for much of it.

Both of these teams are going to be forces in their respective classes. And both teams open district play next week (McGuinness is at Clinton; Millwood has Alva at home).

It was a fantastic game, and I’m glad to have been there to see it.

Millwood's Marc Robinson runs during last week's game against Douglass. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN

I’ll be at tonight’s Millwood-Bishop McGuinness game at Pribil Stadium.

Should be a great matchup between two very good teams. When these two teams met last season, Millwood won 48-41. But these teams are both different in 2011, which should make for a different result.

When Millwood has the ball

Millwood has two powerful running backs — Marc Robinson and Larry Lambeth — that will create plenty of problems for opponents throughout the season. Dametric Sanders is a very athletic quarterback and is a dual threat. Bishop McGuinness has a strong defense, and its linebacking core is especially strong with senior Brandon Nguyen and juniors Danny Krenger and Nick Jeffreys.

Millwood won’t face many teams going forward that will be able to slow its run game down, but Douglass last week and McGuinness this week are two teams that can.

“They’re two big, strong running backs,” Nguyen said.

“We have a couple adjustments for them, but the key this week is wrapping up and hitting the running backs low.”

When Bishop McGuinness has the ball

The Irish’s offense this season under new coach Justin Jones is much more spread out and pass-oriented than under former coach Kenny Young. So far, the change has worked out quite well. Quarterback Camden Tharp has several receivers that he can throw to, and the Irish scored 35 points on archrival Tulsa Bishop Kelley in a win last Friday.

Defensively, Millwood’s strong point is stopping the run with Robinson and Lambeth as linebackers. Unfortunately for the Falcons, the Irish probably won’t try to run the ball much.

Prediction time

The matchups are in Bishop McGuinness’ favor this year. Last season, Millwood won a high-scoring shootout, but I’m expecting it to be more low-scoring this year. Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17

Last week:
Scott 7-3, 1-0
Ryan 6-4, 1-0
Jason 6-4, 1-0

Overall
Ryan: 14-6, 2-0
Jason: 13-7, 1-1
Scott: 13-7, 1-1

Ryan
Midwest City 21, Edmond Santa Fe 14
Jenks 28, Owasso 7
McAlester 35, Ardmore 14
Tulsa East Central 35, Tulsa Washington 10
McGuinness 21, Millwood 13
Heritage Hall 42, Davis 17
Bethany 28, Washington 13
Kingfisher 14, Hennessey 12
Ryan 22, Coyle 18
Tipton 33, Thackerville 22

Lock of the week: Kingfisher over Hennessey
This is a tough one for me because there was a lot I was impressed with last week when I watched Hennessey play Jones. But Kingfisher has the depth to wear down Hennessey a bit by the end of the game and the athleticism to not let Ivan Moreno and Levi Hill wear their defense down. The Eagles will be better for having played this game once district play begins but Kingfisher gets it done.

Jason
Edmond Santa Fe 21, Midwest City 20
Jenks 45, Owasso 24
McAlester 27, Ardmore 14
Tulsa East Central 24, Tulsa Washington 14
Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17
Heritage Hall 35, Davis 10
Bethany 31, Washington 17
Kingfisher 24, Hennessey 21
Coyle 30, Ryan 27
Tipton 35, Thackerville 30

Lock of the week: Bishop McGuinness over Millwood
The Falcons have a tough power running game that will be tough for future opponents to slow down, but not the Irish. McGuinness’ defense — especially with their outstanding linebacking core of Brandon Nguyen, Danny Krenger and Nick Jeffries. Last season, Millwood won a shootout 48-41, but expect a more low-scoring game this time. Bishop McGuinness 28, Millwood 17

Scott
Midwest City 28, Edmond Santa Fe 24
Jenks 35, Owasso 24
McAlester 35, Ardmore 21
Tulsa East Central 30, Tulsa Washington 21
McGuinness 21, Millwood 20
Heritage Hall 41, Davis 17
Bethany 38, Washington 28
Kingfisher 21, Hennessey 20
Coyle 30, Ryan 27
Tipton 28, Thackerville 27

Lock of the week: McAlester over Ardmore.
Sitting in a press box in El Reno two years ago during the Class 5A semifinals, I began to take note of a talented McAlester team. Then I noticed the amount of young players on the roster, and I realized this was a team that would only keep getting better. Now we’re seeing it come to fruition, and I think this week will be another sign of things to come for the Buffs.